To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the value is of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency's (MCA) contract with the Met Office to provide the shipping forecast; what the terms and termination date of that contract are; and what assessment he has made of the effect of the decision by the BBC to terminate its weather contract with the Met Office on the latter's contract with the MCA.
Answered on
15 September 2015
The value of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s (MCA) contract with the Met Office for provision of The Shipping Forecast is: £188,000 (excl. VAT). This is one element of a wider marine weather service that the Met Office delivers on behalf of the MCA. The total contract value for these combined services is £725,000 (excl. VAT). The current contract term is for one year and will expire on 31 March 2016.
With respect to the BBC’s decision not to renew its weather contract with the Met Office, this is a separate provision to the arrangements in place for The Shipping Forecast. Consequently, there will be no impact and the BBC will continue to broadcast The Shipping Forecast using data supplied by the Met Office.