SOUTH East Cornwall MP Anna Gelderd has warned proposed changes to Coastguard Rescue Officers’ pay and volunteer status could have a serious impact on emergency response resilience along Cornwall’s coastline.

Ms Gelderd said she is “deeply concerned” about the move to a revised volunteer model and the removal of call-out payments for Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs), who respond to maritime emergencies in all weather conditions.

She said CROs are a vital part of the local safety network, including her own constituency, often attending high-pressure and traumatic incidents to help protect lives along a busy and exposed coastline used by both residents and visitors.

About 400 Coastguard Rescue Officers across 36 teams in Devon and Cornwall currently receive around £11 per hour when called out to emergencies. Those payments are due to end in September following a legal ruling which determined volunteers should be classed as workers entitled to employment rights such as sick pay and holiday entitlement.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is introducing a revised volunteer model in response to the ruling.

Ms Gelderd said the issue is not about pay, but about recognising the commitment and responsibility of those involved.

“This has never been about the money, but those payments recognised the commitment and responsibility involved,” she said. “I am concerned this decision risks damaging morale, making recruitment and retention harder, and ultimately weakening the resilience of the service our coastal communities rely on,” she added.

Ms Gelderd has written to the Chief Executive of the MCA requesting a meeting and has raised the issue with Government Ministers. She said she wants to meet local CROs as soon as possible.

The MCA said it “deeply values” Coastguard Rescue Officers and will support them through the transition, adding the new model is designed to protect volunteering and maintain emergency response capability.