§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels within the Marine Safety Agency to cope with a marine accident on the scale of the Estonia accident. [8231]
§ Mr. NorrisI have asked the chief executive of the Marine Safety Agency to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from R. M. Bradley to Mr. Graham Allen, dated 18 January 1996:
I am responding to your question to the Secretary of State for Transport asking what assessment has been made of the adequacy of staffing levels within the Marine Safety Agency (MSA) to cope with a marine accident on the scale of the ESTONIA accident.The MSA is currently operating to a complement of some 175 professional and 190 administrative staff. Approximately half of these are based in our Southampton HQ, and the remainder are spread throughout the UK. I am satisfied that staffing levels are sufficient to undertake the tasks agreed in our Business and Corporate Plans. If another incident of the magnitude of the ESTONIA were to occur, then priorities would be reassessed.