Scottish government considers devolved coastguard

[Nick]

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The Scottish government is seeking views on whether coastguard services should be devolved to Holyrood.

[Arghiro]

"Scotland holds 60% of the UK's coastline but these proposals would leave us with just a quarter of the co-ordination centres."

Hmmm, 60% of coastline, but what % of shipping & boating activity? I suspect it will be much less than 50% and that might be a fairer way of measuring the need.

Are you all (including your non-boating colleagues) prepared to pay the necessary taxes to support an independant CG in Scotland?

I hope I am not upsetting anyone by having an opinion on this.

[Rowana]

Sounds to me like another of Admiral of the Fleet Alex Salmond's crackpot ideas.

Close that daft hot air factory in Edinburgh and we'd save a feckin' lot more money than closing a few coastguard centres!

[Nick]

"Scotland holds 60% of the UK's coastline but these proposals would leave us with just a quarter of the co-ordination centres."

Hmmm, 60% of coastline, but what % of shipping & boating activity? I suspect it will be much less than 50% and that might be a fairer way of measuring the need.

Are you all (including your non-boating colleagues) prepared to pay the necessary taxes to support an independant CG in Scotland?

I hope I am not upsetting anyone by having an opinion on this.

You're not upsetting me. Pesonally I would be prepared to pay more tax to retain a decent CG service. Others up here regard the whole devolution experiment as a complete waste of time and money, but I suspect it is here to stay in at least its present form for the forseeable future.

There is curently no mechanism for Scotland to raise extra taxes internally, though this is no doubt going to change in the not too distant. At the moment though if the CG was devolved then all that could be done would be for Scotland to be given the amount of money that it was going to cost to keep the planned 1.5 CG stations open. That could possibly then be added to from another pot or cunningly made to go further.

[Arghiro]

That actually sounds like a plan - and it would reduce the unemployment benefit payments required if stations were closed.

I'm only jealous there is no home rule for Stafford - but we don't have much coastline anyway & our damn MP is a complete waste of space - he even votes against his own party on sensible measures!

I suppose we could apply a levy on the Birmingham Navy to fund CG stations on the canals . . .