I do not need long to sum up, because every single word uttered by Members in this Chamber today shows the strength of feeling that we all have for the RNLI and our independent lifeboats.
I thank the Minister for his response. It is extremely reassuring to hear about the coverage from Her Majesty’s coastguard, and extremely gratifying to know that lessons will be learned and that information sharing can be developed with regards to the RNLI and how it functions alongside the emergency services.
Many of us were aware of the £750 million available for the charities. I hope that we might be able to find something tailored more specifically for the lifeboats, on the basis of the complaints that came through. It is fair to say that these are no ordinary charities; they are part of our emergency services, one way or another, and they have to have a special position as a result.
With regard to the rescue boat grant fund, I am glad that it is under review. I have a willing group of volunteers in this Chamber to push on that and to make the case to the Minister and to the Chancellor—I certainly have form on doing that.
One of the most important parts of our RNLI and independent lifeboats is the volunteers. By standing up today to speak about the need to support those vital lifeboat stations across the country, and their crews, I hope that we have the opportunity to encourage more volunteers in the years to come.
Given the words of all Members, this debate has been a wonderful opportunity to say how much we appreciate what those volunteers do for us. I heard Members calling them heroes, and telling us about them braving the elements and doing the things that none of us would do—they were undeniably right. With work on this in future, we can create a network for a steady flow of volunteers to come through to support such sectors.
I should add that two Members were unable to attend the debate: my hon. Friends the Members for Dover (Mrs Elphicke)—and Deal—and for East Devon (Simon Jupp). They send their apologies. They have been strong advocates in their respective communities, and I will work with them as part of the group.
As I said at the beginning, the idea of what we can do for our independent lifeboats is to create an independent lifeboat association, and that is something that we as Members of Parliament should lead on. We should not take up the time of volunteers, but engage in creating that structure so that they can come to us. We can help in the formation of such an association. In the words of Gilbert and Sullivan, “I’ve got a little list”, and it has all of our names on it. I will contact Members individually about what we can do to ensure that we build this structure.
Question put and agreed to.
Resolved,
That this House has considered the future of the RNLI and independent lifeboats after the covid-19 outbreak.
3.54 pm
Sitting suspended.