To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency spent on (a) flights, (b) legal action and (c) staff in relation to the monitoring of fishing vessels for compliance with regulations on the wearing of personal flotation devices in 2023.
Answered on
7 February 2024
In 2023, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) incurred £31,104 in legal costs associated with issuing notices relating to breaches of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Personal Protective Equipment) Regulation 1999. This is in addition to estimated staff costs in the range of £5,000 to £10,000. Flights support all areas of MCA operations, including search and rescue, counter-pollution, and law enforcement/assurance. As such, it is not possible to provide a specific cost breakdown for flight operations.