§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he will take to ensure that local authorities have up to date oil spill contingency plans in line with the National Contingency Plan following the second report of the Public Accounts Committee. [98698]
§ Mr. JamiesonThe responsibility for responding to pollution at sea lies with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and certain ports and harbours, as laid out in the Merchant Shipping Regulations 1998. However, local authorities will respond to shoreline pollution and have detailed contingency plans to address potential incidents.
The MCA provides two accredited training courses for local authority emergency planners and operational staff. 'Oil pollution, Contingency Planning and Response' is a five-day course for local authority management staff, run four times a year across the UK. 'Oil Pollution Response', run eight times a year, is a two day hands-on training course in counter pollution for local authority staff, who would expect to be involved supervising beach clean-up operations and protective booming operations.
The MCA actively encourages local authorities to maintain and update their oil spill contingency plans. The MCA maintains a database of all local authority oil spill plans, and monitors the updating procedures of individual authorities. In addition, local authorities are encouraged to submit their plans for formal review by the MCA's Counter Pollution and Response Branch.