Every single day of 2024, a mountain rescue team was called out somewhere in England or Wales. Behind those 3,784 call-outs were over 3,000 volunteers who gave more than 167,000 hours of their time, and received no Government funding in return.
Debate on Government Support
I recently led a Westminster Hall debate on Government support for mountain rescue after a member of the Kinder team brought an urgent problem to my attention. This is one of two teams covering my constituency; you can find some of the country’s finest walks both here and in the neighbouring Peak District.
Legal Change Threatens Income
The immediate issue is a legal change that threatens to cut off income these teams cannot afford to lose. Mountain rescue teams routinely provide medical cover at fell races, mountain bike events and other outdoor sporting events. They do not charge, but they receive donations: more than £200,000 a year nationally. That money funds equipment, training and operations.
While the regulations stem from the Manchester Arena Inquiry, and had the right intent, under the new rules, every team member with a Remote Rescue Medical Technician qualification, or even a doctor available by phone, triggers a requirement for CQC registration. The medical director of Mountain Rescue England and Wales has concluded that the compliance costs will exceed the donations teams receive for covering these events. Most teams are expected to stop going.
Consequences for Safety
This will not make anyone safer. Without mountain rescue at these events, teams would still be called when something goes wrong. They would just arrive later and be less prepared. No commercial medical provider covers remote terrain the way these teams do. They know the ground. Removing them from events in advance, only to call them out afterwards, is not a solution. It is legislative overreach with real consequences.
The CQC has committed to meet with mountain rescue teams to discuss this following our debate, which is welcome. But this sits within a wider problem. Mountain rescue teams in England and Wales receive no direct Government funding whatsoever. Scotland provides £300,000 a year shared between 27 teams, a grant introduced in 2003 under a Scottish Liberal Democrat–Labour coalition. It has been done. What is missing is not the mechanism, but the will.
Call for Better Support
Search and rescue volunteers deserve employment protections equivalent to army reservists and special constables: paid leave for training, recompense for lost earnings on call-outs, Crown Indemnity insurance and a VAT exemption on vehicles. There should be a dedicated minister who genuinely engages with these organisations.
The Health Minister said in committee that he did not want small events over-regulated or volunteers overburdened. I welcome that, but Mountain Rescue England and Wales formally requested an exemption to the burden which has been put in place. The answer to that is overdue.
Mountain rescue teams are a vital part of our emergency infrastructure, and we should all want them to thrive, not have their ability to do so held back by red tape.
