Press Releases
Response to Government Announcement on Light Dues
11/06/2009
Trinity House welcomes the Government's announcement yesterday (10 June 2009) on Light Dues.
Trinity House is pleased to have been able to play a constructive role during the recent period of discussion, working hard to mitigate the impact of this necessary adjustment. The level at which Light Dues have been set, while allowing us to maintain our safety remit, will provide for some difficult decisions over the next year and require greater efficiencies from us.
As is well documented, Light Dues have not increased for nearly twenty years; indeed over the last 10 years they have been reduced by 50%. This situation has been brought about by Trinity House and the other GLAs working closely together to provide a cost effective and efficient aids to navigation service around our coast. So competent has been this work that in 2006, with the knowledge of the industry, Light Dues were cut heavily and the GLF run at a loss. The shipping industry was aware at the time that a future rise in Light Dues would be necessary to finance the essential safety work of the GLAs.
However, because we have always worked so closely with representatives of all parts of the marine industry, we do appreciate the difficulties that the current financial constraints impose. The economies we have made over recent years have been translated into significant savings for shipowners. At Trinity House we have closed 50% of our depots, and reduced our staff by 33% and our fleet by 25%, well ahead of the expected economic downturn. The further savings we have made in current and future budgets - operating efficiencies and capital project deferments - have gone far in allowing the Government to announce a much reduced level of light dues increase.
Trinity House and the other GLAs look forward to continuing to work with the Government, the shipping industry and other stakeholders on these issues. However, after our recent considerable rationalisation, our room for further savings is much reduced, and we will not jeopardise the high standards necessary to support safety at sea.
Our practical delivery of aids to navigation is largely in the hands of experienced professional seamen and engineers who are amongst the least likely to wish to expose mariners and shipowners to greater levels of expense than absolutely necessary. In last week's House of Commons debate, MPs of all parties paid tribute to the way Trinity House and the other GLAs so effectively discharge their responsibilities to a high standard in some of the most complex and high-risk shipping lanes in the world.
We are not complacent about this situation, and we will strive, as ever, to find economies while fulfilling our statutory duties.
Notes To Editors
For further information, please contact:
Vikki Gilson, Communications Manager, Trinity House.
Tel: 020 7481 6960
Email: vikki.gilson@thls.org
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