Coastguard agency publishes revised business plan

The Marine and Coastguard Agency has published its business plan for the next four years, outlining a £38m fall in its budgets and an update of its controversial plans for modernising the coastguard service. Last year, the government's plan to slash the number of coastguard stations came under fierce attack from MPs on the Commons' transport committee, as well as from staff in the service concerned about the 481 jobs that would have been lost, and resulted in a public outcry. In the agency's newly-published business plan for 2012-2016, Sir Alan Massey, chief executive of the agency, acknowledges that the original plan, published in the summer of 2011, has had to be revised to reflect the organisation's change in operational priorities. "Most notably, of course, is that after two rounds of extensive public consultation and close parliamentary scrutiny, ministers announced in November 2011 a blueprint for modernising Her Majesty's Coastguard," writes Massey. "This has given our coastguards in co-ordination centres much greater certainly about which centres will cease their co-ordination function or close." Massey, who said last summer that he did not want to see the loyalty of coastguard staff thrown away because of a "force majeure change", writes in the new business plan that the agency is working individually with everyone over their "options for the future". Like other government agencies, the MCA faces severe budget cuts. Its total budget for 2012-13 is £125.7m, made up of £113.8m in operational spend, £9.5m in capital spend and £11.9m on administrative spending. By 2015-16, its budget will fall to £87.3m, with a huge drop in operational spend to £77m, while its administrative spend will fall slightly to £10.3m. But capital spending will rise very slightly, to £9.9m (although this may be a fall in real terms, once inflation is taken into account). The business case outlines plans to deliver savings of 33% on the agency's administration costs from April 2011 to March 2015 – a result of a four-year review of its organisational structure. It also says it will use central contracts and also share services in finance, HR and procurement in order to help cut costs. This article is published by Guardian Professional . Join the Guardian Public Leaders Network free to receive regular emails on the issues at the top of the professional agenda.