§ Mrs. DunwoodyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what plans he has to review the funding for the Coastguard Agency. [22871]
§ Ms Glenda JacksonThe Government intend to merge the Coastguard Agency and the Marine Safety Agency on 1 April 1998 to create a new Agency, to be known as the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (the Chief Executive of which will be Mr. Maurice Storey, currently a Director of Stena Line UK). The budget for the new Agency in 1998–99 will be higher than the sum of the current year budgets of the two existing agencies. The longer term funding of the Agency is being considered in the context of the Comprehensive Spending Review, in which we shall of course give due priority to safety and counter-pollution activities.