Actual Savings?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Dryce

Hardcore MB Enthusiast
Joined
May 17, 2006
Messages
10,903
Car
..
So today they announce the private contract for air sea rescue has gone to Bristow. Fair enough. I guess they'll do the job for the money.

But.

Will we the taxpayer actually save much? After all we'll still be paying the fixed costs of keeping some of the airbases going whether they're used for the SAR service or not.

And we presumably will still have the RAF running helicopters and training pilots but just not doing the SAR stuff as well. Which kind of makes me think we'll be paying for much of the underlying manpower and equipment costs - or conversely our military will have given up some of its own capability and flexibility (that will either cost in the future because we haven't got it but need it or we'll have to buy it back).

I have a horrible feeling that the UK taxpayer will end up paying more one way or another - and actually getting less.

:(
 
We still need helicopters and pilots for purely military duties I suppose.

In simple terms Air-Sea Rescue only uses airframe hours and fuel. The Pilot and ground crew are already on the payroll.

SAR is a wonderfull training tool so now I expect we will be flying "training" missions to keep the chaps hand in.
 
At the risk of going political, it strikes me that successive governments have an uncanny knack of negotiating contracts that come back to bite them
 
At the risk of going political, it strikes me that successive governments have an uncanny knack of negotiating contracts that come back to bite them

I wonder if the military put up the SAR service as a specific cost in order to use it as leverage to defend budgets allocated to other areas and argue that it should be treated as an addition - and that has then backfired as HMG and its civil servants looked at that cost as being something they could contract out to undercut and make 'savings'.
 
That's Prince William out of a job then? Guess it'll be down to the old Job Centre for him--- And the family with a baby on the way too. :p
 
That's Prince William out of a job then? Guess it'll be down to the old Job Centre for him--- And the family with a baby on the way too. :p

Don't forget he's in public housing as well, probably with a few extra bedrooms......
 
That's Prince William out of a job then? Guess it'll be down to the old Job Centre for him--- And the family with a baby on the way too. :p

I expect he'll be TUPE'd across to the new service. :rolleyes:
 
I expect he'll be TUPE'd across to the new service. :rolleyes:

Unlikely, that's what happens to the ordinary chap in a helicopter, in any case Bristow's is "trade" not the service. He'll either move to another job in Crab-Air, or go back to doing a bit of trainee kinging.
 
Last edited:
I have a horrible feeling that the UK taxpayer will end up paying more one way or another - and actually getting less.
HMG have a pretty poor record when it comes to understanding costs and things military. The carriers fiasco is a great example of how badly wrong they get it. I fear that your analysis of the likely outcome is probably 100% correct.
 
UK taxpayer to foot the bill for more political dodgy dealings - Surely Not!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - I wonder which british politician will pop up on the Bristow payroll or board!!! - how could i think such a thing...........
 
HMG have a pretty poor record when it comes to understanding costs and things military.

My personal experience of this was bobbing about a bit somewhere well away from blighty and there was a shoreside comms glitch on one of the services we were using. The time was late Friday afternoon in the UK. Word came back from shore that we'd have to wait till Tuesday morning to get it sorted because it was a bank holiday weekend. (WTF!)

It turned out the big contractor handling the shoreside kit was only contracted 9-5.

I think somebody senior shoreside must have also done a "WTF!" because it was magically fixed when we came back up a few hours later.

I was left aghast asking WTF were they thinking when they outsourced that.

(F = Flip)
 
Last edited:
I have a horrible feeling that the UK taxpayer will end up paying more one way or another - and actually getting less.

Railways, gas, electricity, prisons, coal, water. The list goes on.

When did the UK taxpayer ever get a good deal from privatisation ?
 
That's Prince William out of a job then? Guess it'll be down to the old Job Centre for him--- And the family with a baby on the way too. :p

Thanks heavens for the bank of Mum and Dad..

Cheers,

Gaz
 
Portland is being axed, so folks who may sail make a note not to get into difficulty around the Portland area, as it will take at least 40 minutes to get to you from Lee-on-Solent, but mind you the helicopter will be a nice shiny one I expect :D
 
When did the UK taxpayer ever get a good deal from privatisation ?

BT

RR

BA was kind of spruced up before privatisation. So I'm not sure that the taxpayer got a good deal. But it was better privatised.

I think that's about it.

The true cost of electricity privatisation will become apparent in another 10 years.
 
I don't think it is fair to criticise privatisation as such - those badly-run privatised services were mostly badly-run even before privatisation, and under subsequent governments' watch the Royal Mail has deteriorated in the past decade from first-class to an over-expensive and unreliable service not fit even for the developing world. Badly-run businesses are just that, privatised it otherwise.

But with regards SAR, I think the issue is different. Soldiers, Sailors, and RAF personnel are expected to risk their lives in the service of Queen and Country, be it at war or during dangerous rescue missions.

I don't think we can really expect anyone to do this as a paid civilian job.
 
I don't think we can really expect anyone to do this as a paid civilian job.

I don't really see that as a problem. A professional private SAR service is likely to be as committed as police or firefighters or RNLI who regularly put themselves at personal risk on behalf of the public.
 
I don't really see that as a problem. A professional private SAR service is likely to be as committed as police or firefighters or RNLI who regularly put themselves at personal risk on behalf of the public.

Firefighters and police are employed by the government, RNLI are volunteers. None are private sector employees.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom