§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list by coastguard station the number of additional staff provided as a result of the introduction of the 2182 Khz system. [39478]
§ Mr. BowisAs a result of the introduction of monitoring the 2182 Khz system by Coastguard, the agency agreed that an additional auxiliary operations room assistant should be made available to assist in maintaining the distress watch at the 10 designated 2,182 stations. This is in addition to the normal 24-hour watchkeeping complements at each rescue centre and is a temporary arrangement pending the introduction of coastguard watchkeeping assistants. At some of these stations it has proved difficult to find the additional auxiliary ORAs from the pool of trained auxiliaries locally, but this has not affected the ability to respond to 2182 Khz distress calls.