We've always donated to our local air ambulance for years and since moving to the coast to the RNLI. OH and myself were talking about these charities and can't understand why they are not government funded. The RNLI could easily be manned by the Royal Navy or Royal Navy Air Station. Likewise the Air Ambulance could be a branch of the Royal Air Force or RNAS. Mountain rescue should be manned by Army or Marines. If we aren't at war surely this would be real life training for our Forces. We think these essential services should not have to rely on charity donations to survive, although we know all volunteers are well trained and devoted. The lifeboat is out very often here on the south coast rescuing mostly holiday makers in trouble. All 3 shouldn't be a charity imo. What do others think?
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Charities
Why aren't these Charities Government Funded?
(68 Posts)I believe they don't want to be, because of the Government interference which it would entail, according to a speaker I heard recently from the RNLI.
How much more tax are you willing to pay?
I don’t think you’ve thought that one through.
eazybee
I believe they don't want to be, because of the Government interference which it would entail, according to a speaker I heard recently from the RNLI.
Yes, the RNLI feels that if they were dependent on government funding, they would be very vulnerable, as they could - for instance - be ordered to stop rescuing people crossing the channel in small boats on pain of losing their funding..!
This is not their ethos, so they will remain independent 🙂
Sazzi I echo what MerylStreep says. Yes, RNLI use boats on the sea and air ambulance use helicopters, but there the similarities with what the armed services do ends.
Exactly how would the navy run an on call locally staffed small scale service being run from a hundred or more different locations around the coast? They would have to takeover the RNLI and establish that as an entirely seperate service doing something entirely different with different specially trained staff, and using volunteer crews from the locality of life boat stations, who know their local waters and coast. Adding of course another layer of authority in the Ministry of Defence in London.
On the other hand, why not just leave the RNLI to get on with dong what they do so wel? the same applies to the air ambulance.
Government funding would certainly help, but that is an entirely seperate issue.
I wonder why so many people think the armed forces are just dogsbodies available to mop up after other people? They’re stretched enough as it is in the defence of the UK and now they should be reaching people off mountains etc?
SueDonim
I wonder why so many people think the armed forces are just dogsbodies available to mop up after other people? They’re stretched enough as it is in the defence of the UK and now they should be reaching people off mountains etc?
👏👏👏
Exactly
There are several tiers I think. I live in the mountains, and we have several Army training camps close by. We also have Welsh Air Ambulance which is a charity, and Mountain Rescue, which is a charity run by an amazing group of local volunteers.
Mountain Rescue are called out a few times every week, for falls, broken ankles, people not prepared for the weather etc.
if somebody has a heart attack or a serious injury, Mountain Rescue contact Air Ambulance, who send their helicopter.
However, the army are also training in the mountains, and if one of the troops is injured they call on their own helicopter.
Mountain Rescue works really well and is embedded in the community, but I do think Air Ambulance should be government funded, or joined up with the army helicopter resource, because they are both regularly around here (I can see and hear them from my house), but they duplicate the costs by having two resources. Air Ambulance have to work incredibly hard at fundraising to keep the show on the road, and that seems unfair to me.
On another charity related note, I also think hospices should receive government support.
I agree with you about Hospices Casdon they do such a fantastic job and should get some Government help.
I agree 100% with you about Hospices. They offer a vital service
to the country but often struggle to do all that .
Casdon But any change of organisation would need to be nationwide, and while I can see that in an area like yours where there is strong army training presence this would work well.
In other areas where the armed services, with or without helipcopters are thin on the ground, then it would be less easy.
The other thing to consider is what would happen if the armed services were mobilised to go and serve on a war front. I am not discussing the rights and wrongs of any call out, but whether it is the Falklands, Iraq, the Balkan states, all of a sudden the whole army is on a fighting footing and every unit, whether it stays in this country or is pulled out and sent abroad is focussed on its primary purpose, how would the air ambulance service manage if all its helicopters and pilots were requisitioned and sent overseas?
The same applies to the lifeboat service. If it is a navy unit, even if local and territorial, the organisation and helicopters could be withdrawn. Some of the lifeboats might be requisitioned to be used in the field of war.
I know Monica, what would work for Wales would probably not work for England in the same way, although as there are less mountains Air Ambulance is maybe not quite such a regularly used service - I mainly hear of it being used for road accident victims?
As the army units here are specifically for training, they are still used in the event of war, and I imagine they would need to retain an air presence for their own use - but an alternative would be to fund the Air Ambulance centrally, and they could then do the rescues for army personnel too? As I said, my main concern is that it’s a much needed service and the volunteers have to work incredibly hard to raise funds - many of them, unsurprisingly are ex forces personnel. It literally operates on a wing and a prayer.
But Casdon , if there was a call to arms, the training would stop, soldiers and their helicopters from around the country would be deployed to the theatre of war, whereever that would be.
No matter how centralised the system, if the helicopters and troops are, possibly, thousands of miles away, they cannot operate a service.
Finance is a seperate issue. I am talking about the logistics.
M0nica
But Casdon , if there was a call to arms, the training would stop, soldiers and their helicopters from around the country would be deployed to the theatre of war, whereever that would be.
No matter how centralised the system, if the helicopters and troops are, possibly, thousands of miles away, they cannot operate a service.
Finance is a seperate issue. I am talking about the logistics.
No it wouldn’t, because not all obviously, but many are new recruits, straight from school in a lot of cases. My nearest town is a garrison town. They come here to get the ‘inhospitable terrain’ training, which they would still need. I’m not saying using the army’s helicopters is necessarily the answer though, because the Air Ambulance could do rescues for both as I said. It’s just not adequately funded - and actually, in the event of a war it would allow the army helicopters to be deployed elsewhere too.
I only realised recently that maintenance of the canals was a charity. I was quite shocked. Some local councillors are clearing up parts of our village that have fallen into disrepair. I daren’t query why they’re in such a state.
The more I read the op the more ridiculous the idea is.
The op seems to assume that crew in the Royal Navy are capable of handling small craft and understand tides, sandbanks etc.
The majority have probably never handled a small craft in their lives.
MayBee70
I only realised recently that maintenance of the canals was a charity. I was quite shocked. Some local councillors are clearing up parts of our village that have fallen into disrepair. I daren’t query why they’re in such a state.
Funnily enough I’m reading a great book about the canals at the moment which covers how they were reinvigorated after WW2. It’s about a guy’s journey on them on his narrowboat, and it’s funny as well as surprising.
Absolutely Meryl.
And the RNLI and Air Ambulances seem very adept at fundraising, and lifeboat crews are proud volunteers.
Germanshepherdsmum
Absolutely Meryl.
And the RNLI and Air Ambulances seem very adept at fundraising, and lifeboat crews are proud volunteers.
If you call ex servicemen giving up days of their time to sit for full days in hospitals (the same guy every week where I worked, from 9-5 to catch maximum numbers) and on the street having to ask people to part with their money or the service will go under then yes they are effective. I pay a monthly direct debit donation to Air Ambulance, as I’m sure many people do, because it’s the only way to keep them airborne. It shouldn’t be like that.
As I said, how much more tax are you willing to pay?
As much as it takes to sort out the unholy mess this country is now in.
The Coast Guard is government funded, it's a 999 servic they work alongside the RNLI.
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