Coastguard volunteers no longer paid for callouts

Volunteer coastguards will no longer be paid for responding to emergency callouts following a court ruling. Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) are given hourly remuneration for attending incidents and training exercises. However the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) said it needed to "change how the service operates" after the Court of Appeal upheld a judgement classing responders as "workers" while they were carrying out their duties. BBC Scotland News understands six coastguard teams in Orkney were made aware of the changes this week. CROs make up the bulk of the Coastguard Rescue Service (CRS), the volunteer arm of HM Coastguard. They carry out rescues around the UK's coast, including those stuck in mud, water and on cliffs, as well as assisting in searches for missing people. They are officially classed as volunteers, but can claim about £11 per hour for responding to callouts or undertaking training exercises. A minimum payment equivalent to three hours – about £33 – can be claimed even if in an incident is resolved before that. However, the MCA is to remove that payment from later in the year. The change centres on a case involving former CRO Martin Groom, who took the MCA