RNLI Petition Please read
 

Taken from another link on another forum

Couldnt belive it when I read it ....Disgusted

R N L I PETITION

If anyone is interested in signing this petition we would be very grateful.

The link is at the end of the message.

For info/action. Please forward to anyone you think might help by signing the petition.

The background:

RADIOS BILL MAY SCUPPER RNLI

LIFEBOAT crews fear being scuppered by crippling new charges for using their radios from Ofcom, the communications regulator. The RNLI could see the price of using its VHF emergency frequencies rise to £250,000 under plans to charge the full commercial rate.

The charity, which saves hundreds of lives every year currently pays an annual £48,000 at a discounted rate of 50 per cent. It relies on donations and fears the move will have a disastrous impact on fundraising. Peter Bradley, RNLI operations staff officer, said: 'It's a lot of money when you think in terms of lifeboat days and little old ladies collecting pound coins.'

'We could buy several inshore lifeboats for the same amount.'

'The Government rely on us to provide this search-and-rescue service, at a cost of £124 million a year, but they want to charge us for doing it!'

Ofcom has set out plans to bring 'market forces' into maritime and civil aviation communications in a policy it calls Administered Incentive Pricing.

£250,000 represents an awful lot of charity collections, even more so in the current economic climate so, if like me you feel strongly enough about this, PLEASE SIGN the petition below.

Petition to: Protect the RNLI from paying licence fees for using Maritime radio frequencies. | Number10.gov.uk

Regards
Mark

Sorry if its in the wrong section can the Mods move please

Signed, I think that is absolutely disgusting of Ofcom.

Signed!!

well i think its disgusting that the RNLI is a charity the bloody goverment should pay for them as it is a public service and without them we would be fooked

signed up :)

i think its a disgrace that this is a organisation run by donations anyway, to try and make them pay this ammount of money for little more than using a bloody VHF/UHF radio is just a joke, typical of society we live in nowadays

its more than a disgrace its absolutely fcuking disgusting, we should help them out and raise money for them somehow by having a special meet

Signed!!!

It always seems that the RNLI are the poor relations to the other emergency services, and that just is not on. An exception should be made for them, pure and simple.

It's not as if they are using the radio system as some kind of broadcast system, ala FM/AM radio stations (just thinking about them blasting out some hardcore drum and bass over the VHF/UHF :D), it's used for communications by them to, typically, people in distress.

What happens if they cannot pay this new fee? No VHF/UHF radio use? Well that's fecking marvelous, how the hell will they help people out (or have I missed the point here?)

Whilst I've not had to use UHF/VHF to call the RNLI, we have had to do this to the Canadian Coast Guard / Toronto Marine Unit, when we had a life threatening medical emergency whilst sailing in Lake Ontario, so I know how important using UHF/VHF is when sailing.

signed, RNLI rule! :notworthy

signed:thumb:

Signed, our RNLI station here does fantastic work, these guys are genuine heroes in the truest sense of the word. Your Government and Ofcom should be ashamed of themselves.

I'm in.

Never mind an increase, why isn't it free?

Signed. as said above there should be instances where its FOC!

Also guys sign this aswell

Petition to: Protect Mountain Rescue Services from paying licence fees for using VHF radio frequencies. | Number10.gov.uk

"Protect Mountain Rescue Services from paying licence fees for using VHF radio frequencies"