§ Mr. AingerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the civilian search and rescue missions flown by helicopters from RAF Chivenor, RAF Brawdy and RAF Valley between 00.01 hours and 23.59 hours on Tuesday 19 April, including time of call and time of arrival on scene.
§ Mr. HanleyThe search and rescue helicopter flight at RAF Chivenor was called to one incident on the day in question. The call for assistance from the rescue co-ordination centre was received at RAF Chivenor at 15.35. The helicopter was stood down before reaching the incident scene and the rescue was completed by the Fishguard lifeboat. The flights at RAF Brawdy and RAF Valley were not involved in any civil search and rescue missions during that day.
§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the purposes of the plans to transfer the area of responsibility of the search and rescue facility at RAF Brawdy, Dyfed to that of RAF Chivenor; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. HanleyMy Department's decision to move the RAF search and rescue flight from Brawdy to Chivenor formed part of our overall plan for the basing of RAF search and rescue helicopters in the United Kingdom as set out in the 1992 open government document "The Future Provision of RAF Search and Rescue Helicopters", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
This decision, which has recently been re-examined in the light of subsequent developments and reconfirmed, was based on operational factors relating to the military requirement for search and rescue while maximising the effectiveness of the RAF search and rescue force for civil search and rescue operations.