Grant Funding Offered to UK Water Rescue Services
Local water rescue services could use the money to purchase lifesaving equipment such as boats, life jackets, and safety gear. They have until Sept. 6 to submit their bids to the Department for Transport.
Britain's Department for Transport is offering £1 million in funding (about $1.3 million in U.S. dollars) to help local water rescue services. The money is coming from the inshore and inland rescue boat grant scheme and can be used to purchase lifesaving equipment such as boats, life jackets, and safety gear.
Services have until Sept. 6 to submit their bids to the Department for Transport, which is running the scheme with advice from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Royal Yachting Association.
"We value and support the lifesaving work that goes on every day by our dedicated local waterway rescue services. Their commitment and skills keep our rivers, lakes and inshore areas safe," Maritime Minister John Hayes said. "The additional funds provided by the scheme will ensure that these tireless volunteers and charities can get the boats, equipment, and other resources they need to provide round-the-clock lifesaving services."
Since the funding source was created in 2014, it has helped more than 80 charities.
Earlier this year, Portsmouth and Southsea Voluntary Lifeguards used a lifeboat funded by the grant scheme to save the lives of those on board two vessels off the coast of Portsmouth.