There is a new page for all information on UKSAR2G. Please follow this link. Information on this page will be updated as the programme evolves.

The MCA, through HM Coastguard, provides a national 24-hour maritime and coastal search and rescue (SAR) emergency response service throughout the UK.

HM Coastguard provides support to all blue light emergency services, as well as other government departments and agencies, through the deployment of its search and rescue helicopters and planes.

Since 2013, the UKSAR helicopter service has been delivered by Bristow helicopters ltd. From ten strategically located bases around the UK, rescuing over 4,500 people since the service started in 2015. This contract is due to finish in 2024.

UKSAR2G is the second-generation programme that will take account of how the current UKSAR helicopter service has evolved and will seek to understand other emergency services’ requirements and needs to shape a highly collaborative and innovative solution. UKSAR2G will work from first principles to develop a more tailored and modern means of delivering vital search and rescue capabilities in a more cost-efficient and innovative way.

Procurement timetable

* These dates are currently indicative and are subject to changes

Procurement portal

A procurement portal is being developed, where interested parties can register and gain access to documents relating to the procurement.

Further information

Post implementation review

UKSAR Helicopter statistics

Search and rescue (UKSAR) framework

HM Coastguard search and rescue

MCA news and communications

If you have any questions and queries, please contact UKSAR2G@mcga.gov.uk

In this video Damien Oliver, Commercial & Programmes Director at the MCA and the Senior Responsible Owner of the UKSAR2G programme, offers some more insight into the programme and its objectives

An online event for industry has been held by those overseeing the second generation UK Search and Rescue aviation programme (UKSAR2G). For those unable to be present, we have included the video of the event.

The Home Office has today (19 March 2020) announced that more than three million have been granted status under the EU Settlement Scheme, according to the latest internal figures.

The milestone was reached less than a year after the EU Settlement Scheme was launched to the public. The three million have now secured their rights in UK law, and can continue to live and work in the UK with no change to their daily lives.

Detailed official statistics show there have been more than 3.34 million applications to the scheme up to the end of February 2020 with more than 3 million applications from England, 166,300 from Scotland, 54,500 from Wales and 55,400 from Northern Ireland.

Minister for Future Borders and Immigration Kevin Foster said:

EU citizens have made huge contributions to our country. It’s good news over three million have now been granted status and will be able to continue to call the UK home for decades to come.

Home Office caseworkers have regularly been processing up to 20,000 applications a day. The highest number of applications processed in one month was in October 2019 when more than 400,000 people were granted status.

A wide range of support is available online, over the phone and in person to help EU citizens apply. There are over 1,500 Home Office staff working on the EU Settlement Scheme with 250 Settlement Resolution Centre staff in place to provide assistance to applicants with any questions about the scheme or who need help applying.

Last year, the Home Office awarded £9 million funding to 57 charities across the UK who have helped hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people already. A further £8 million of funding was announced earlier this month to help vulnerable EU citizens apply.

Chief Executive of PKAVS Paul Graham said:

We are pleased to be working with the Home Office to support vulnerable people in Perth and Kinross with their applications to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Through our free helpline, our events programme, and individual support, we have been able to provide vital assistance to those who need it most to help them secure their status under UK law.

Additional support is also available to those EU citizens in the UK who do not have the appropriate access, skills or confidence to apply. This includes over 300 assisted digital locations across the UK where people can be supported through their application and over 80 locations where people can have their passport scanned and verified.

Low-income families whose children are eligible for free school meals will be offered vouchers, food or meals to make sure they continue receiving this support, even if they are no longer attending school due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The Government has today, Thursday 19 March, published guidance for schools giving them the flexibility to provide meals or shop vouchers to the 1.3 million disadvantaged children entitled to free school meals if they are no longer attending school, either due to closures or as a result of self-isolating at home.

Schools will be able to provide meals or vouchers for supermarkets or local shops, which can be sent directly to families who are either self-isolating at home or whose schools are closed on government advice. This follows the Education Secretary’s announcement on Wednesday that schools will close from Monday until further notice, except for children of key workers and vulnerable children.

The Government has also confirmed that the total value of vouchers offered to each eligible child per week will exceed the rate it pays to schools for free school meals, recognising that families will not be buying food in bulk and may therefore incur higher costs.

The guidance for schools states they can choose to support eligible children however they believe is most appropriate and headteachers can decide which of the available options will be best for families in their area.

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

Our school leaders and teachers are central to the country’s response to these unprecedented challenges, and I want to thank them for their calm resilience in the face of adversity. I am reassured by the support they continue to offer all families, particularly the most disadvantaged.

No child who would ordinarily receive a free school meal should go without this while their school is closed or while they are having to self-isolate at home. By giving headteachers flexibility on how they can get meals or shop vouchers to these children, they can make the most appropriate decisions for families in their communities, and provide immediate reassurance that this important support will continue.

Effective immediately, schools will be able to order vouchers directly from supermarkets or shops in their communities to be emailed or printed and posted to families, and they will have their costs covered by the Department for Education.

A national approach to providing these supermarket and shop vouchers is being developed. Further details, including the total values being provided, will be provided shortly via the published guidance.

The Government’s decision will provide immediate reassurance to families across England that they can still access this support even in the event of having to self-isolate at home or while schools are closed on the Government’s advice.

The design of the scheme is finalised and available to view here: https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/east-anglia-c-e/coggeshall-flood-alleviation-information-page/

Residents, partners and interested parties are encouraged to take a look at the Environment Agency’s plans before a planning application is submitted.

In October 2001 Coggeshall, Feering and Kelvedon suffered from significant flooding and since then, in May 2012 and February 2014, the villages experienced further flooding.

The Environment Agency has forged a partnership with Blackwater Aggregates to find a financially viable solution.

The option being taken forward combines the construction of an “on-line” dam across the River Blackwater and creation of an extended flood storage area next to the River Blackwater upstream of Coggeshall.

Flood and coastal risk manager for Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Peta Denham, said:

“We have met with the local action group Coggeshall Residents Against the Quarry (CRAQ) and Priti Patel MP to answer their questions and to keep them up to date with the project.

“We have also replied to questions sent in by local residents.

“We encourage anyone who is interested to examine these final designs before we submit our proposals to the planning authority.

“Once the application has been submitted to Essex County Council’s Minerals and Planning Authority (MPA), they will consult with all the appropriate bodies including the respective parish councils.

“As local residents you will also have the opportunity to offer your views to the MPA.”

Drop-in sessions planned to be held in Coggeshall and Feering on 23 March and 3 April respectively have now been cancelled due to concerns relating to Covid-19.