§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement about grant aid to encourage the safe operation of fishing vessels. [137406]
§ Mr. MorleyThe Government wish to see the fishing industry develop a positive safety culture. Former schemes providing grants simply for equipment have not been successful in cutting accident rates. One of the keys to improving safety is good training and that will be our priority. We therefore propose to make up to £0.5 million available in each of the next three financial years to deliver safety training for fishermen in England. These
264Wpayments, to be funded through the EU structural fund for fisheries, will cover the fees to enable courses to be offered to fishermen without charge.
My Department is in discussion with the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Fisheries Departments of the devolved Administrations to develop a suitable new package of training measures. These will include courses to update safety awareness among fishermen hitherto exempt from the requirement for safety training; to provide training in accident prevention and risk assessment; and safety training for newcomers to the industry. We will consult the fishing industry on our proposals.
265WWe also intend that grant aid should be available through FIFG to support the trialling of innovative and experimental equipment to improve vessel safety.