The Coastguard Association

HM Coastguard is the national category 1 emergency service responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of all maritime search and rescue (SAR) within the UK Maritime Search and Rescue Region. This includes the mobilisation, organisation and tasking of adequate resources to respond to persons either in distress at sea, or to persons at risk of injury or death on the cliffs or shoreline of the United Kingdom. It is also responsible for all land-based search and rescue helicopter operations across the UK.

Every minute of every hour of every day, over 300 Coastguard Rescue Teams remain on call across the UK to respond to those in need at sea, along the coast and further afield. These teams are made up of specially trained Coastguard Rescue Officers who volunteer to join HM Coastguard, leaving their families, friends, full-time occupations and putting plans on hold when the pager sounds. Coastguard Rescue Teams are specially trained and equipped in a wide range of search and rescue disciplines including water and flood rescue, lost and missing person search, technical rope rescue, mud rescue, critical casualty care, 4×4 off road driving and much more.

The Coastguard Rescue Teams are tasked and coordinated by the highly trained full-time staff within the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centres across the UK who answer 999 calls, respond to mayday radio transmissions and bring these emergency incidents to a safe conclusion using the resources available to them including Coastguard Rescue Teams, full-time senior coastal officers, lifeboats (RNLI and independent) and search and rescue aircraft.

And while these dedicated people are helping save lives across the country, The Coastguard Association is the charity dedicated to help them in their time of need.

Coastguard Rescue Service Changes – Official Statement

Official statement from the Coastguard Association

As the charity dedicated to supporting Coastguard personnel and their families in their time of need, we are aware it has been a challenging period for Coastguard Rescue Officers in light of a planned move to a revised voluntary model in September and loss of remuneration.

While we remain independent from the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and operate apolitically with no involvement or influence over internal matters within the Coastguard Rescue Service, we want to acknowledge yesterday’s announcement by Keir Mather, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, confirming the plans to move to the expenses-only volunteer model in September will not go ahead, and current arrangements will remain in place.

The statement advises the MCA will carry out further engagement over the coming months to inform future decisions on the shape of the Coastguard Rescue Service, with the Department of Transporting exploring options for how Coastguard Rescue Officers can continue to be rightfully recognised and rewarded and have the flexibility to continue to serve their communities.

Given how politically charged the social media landscape has been over recent weeks around the Coastguard Rescue Service, we have intentionally reduced our public facing activities to ensure we remain impartial, not to be viewed or considered as a form of trade union and not to dilute or confuse any public conversations or perceptions around coastguard activities, funding and future operations.

As a 100 percent volunteer-led charity, we have continued to work tirelessly in the background to help and support current and former Coastguard personnel in their time of hardship. We are also blessed to have had some incredible fundraising undertaken around the coast and a number of significant donations, all of which we will share over the coming days and weeks, as our public facing content resumes.

As a committee, we are continuing to look at how any future operating changes may impact our charity, while continuing to engage with our members and review and develop new fundraising opportunities.

Once again, we want to publicly extend our sincerest thanks to the Coastguard Rescue Officers around the UK who are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to respond to those in need at the coast and beyond.

Thank you to everyone for their continued support of our charity.

New Coastguard Voluntary Model Announcement – Official Statement

Official Statement from the Coastguard Association

As the charity dedicated to supporting Coastguard personnel and their families in their time of need, we want to acknowledge the recent announcement regarding the removal of remuneration for Coastguard Rescue Officers and a move to the new voluntary model.

We appreciate this announcement may cause concern and anxiety for Coastguard Rescue Officers around the country, and we are fully cognisant of the rationale and the legal proceedings which have led to this change.

As a management team, we are currently reviewing how this change may impact our charity.

We have had numerous e-mails and are aware of social content posts requesting the Coastguard Association be available to provide some form of representation to Coastguard Rescue Officers regarding this new voluntary operating model.

Since our inception 50 years ago, we have always been very clear that we are a welfare charity to support Coastguards who have found themselves in a time of genuine hardship. We have never purported to be or acted in a manner similar to a union or any representative body in relation to internal matters within the Maritime & Coastguard Agency/Coastguard Rescue Service, and this position is not under review or going to change following this announcement.

Going forward, we will continue to engage and work closely with our key stakeholders and our members to ensure we can support Coastguards past, present and future.

While we are reviewing the potential impact on our charity, the support we offer remains the same and can be accessed by the usual means through our website.

In the meantime, we want to extend our thanks to everyone within the Coastguard Rescue Service for their commitment and dedication, and while we appreciate many may be currently considering their position in light of this announcement, we sincerely hope everyone can find a way to continue to serve their communities and help save lives.

50th Anniversary Annual General Meeting

Massive THANK YOU to everyone who attended our Annual General Meeting held on Saturday 21st March 2026 in Lincolnshire.

This was a historic AGM for number of reasons including marking the start of the charity’s 50th anniversary and the first ever hybrid meeting accommodating both in person and virtual attendance.

It was our pleasure to welcome a representative of HM Coastguard’s Senior Leadership Team to say a few words at the start of the meeting and to thank our charity for the support we provide. This welcomed attendance highlights the wonderful partnership and collaboration between HM Coastguard and the Coastguard Association as we work tirelessly to support the brave men and woman of the Coastguard Rescue Service and HM Coastguard.

The meeting provided an opportunity to update our members on our charitable activities and the support available to serving and retired Coastguards including financial assistance, mental health support, foodbank vouchers and access to our Members Assistance Programme.

Several committee positions were re-elected, namely Stuart our Chair, who was also presented with a small gift having now served 20 years in this role, Joanna our National Secretary, Kevin our Digital Operations & Engagement Lead and Matt who will be taking on an Operational Support Role.

50th Anniversary Launch Event

Everyone is cordially invited to the Coastguard Association’s Annual General Meeting and the beginning of our 50^th Anniversary Celebrations.

The date for your diary is Saturday 21^st March 2026 and we want everyone to be part of this milestone year.

Our Annual General Meeting will take place at Kenwick Park Hotel in Louth at 10am with tea and coffee on arrival, followed by a buffet lunch. In a first for the Coastguard Association, there will also be the ability to dial in virtually to our meeting as well.

After lunch, we will be hosting an open afternoon at our Head Office in nearby Mablethorpe where people can speak to our committee and find out more about what the future holds for our charity.

The AGM weekend will also mark the start of The Big Tour – where we will be taking the charity on the road and visiting all 18 Operational Coastguard Areas throughout our 50^th year.

And of course, there will be the opportunity to sign up or renew your membership and pick up a range of commemorative 50^th anniversary merch.

Let’s make this a year to remember.

Coastguard Association Foodbank Vouchers

As the charity dedicated to Coastguard personnel and their families in their time of need, we are constantly looking for new ways to support our people past, present and future.

And with this in mind, we have collaborated with The Trussell Trust and can now provide foodbank vouchers to serving and former Coastguards who are facing challenging times.

More information available at: Foodbank Vouchers | The Coastguard Association