Mountain Rescue

Lisa Smart Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd April 2026 Westminster Hall

[Lisa Smart (Hazel Grove) (LD)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Government support for mountain rescue.

It is a pleasure to serve with you in the Chair, Ms Lewell. I know that many colleagues across the House and people in our communities share a deep appreciation for the extraordinary work that mountain rescue teams do. While Hazel Grove, the finest constituency in the land, has no mountains, we do have hills, and we have a good number of mountain rescue volunteers. Alongside their day jobs, these volunteers have chosen to train to an extremely high standard and to place themselves in some of the most dangerous conditions imaginable in their spare time, so that when someone in the hills—near me, that means the Peaks—gets into trouble, they can respond and save them from dire situations. That deserves far more recognition than it currently receives.

This winter alone, we have seen time and again the lifesaving and critical service that mountain rescue teams provide, from Snowdonia to the Lake district to the Peak district. Responding to call-outs in severe weather and scarily dangerous conditions, volunteers risk their own safety every time they respond. These services are significant: Mountain Rescue England and Wales co-ordinates 47 volunteer mountain rescue teams operating across eight regional bodies, which together cover some of the most challenging and remote terrain in the country.

[Will Stone (Swindon North) (Lab)]

On that point about working in remote environments, does the hon. Member agree that we should be looking to integrate more drone technology to support mountain rescue, and will she join me in praising the work that Flyby Technology has been doing in this space?

[Lisa Smart]

I am grateful for the intervention. We need to use whatever technology exists to make the work of mountain rescue volunteers even more effective. I will come on to talk about the work they do to find people who are missing, but drone technology can certainly help with that, and we should welcome it.

The sheer scale of the teams’ operations is remarkable. According to the latest annual review, in 2024 mountain rescue teams responded to almost 4,000 call-outs, resulting in over 3,000 deployments—a 24% increase on 2019. It was also the first year in which teams went zero days without a single call-out. That meant that every single day of the year, somewhere in England or Wales a mountain rescue team was called upon.

Behind those rescues are over 3,000 volunteers, who have given over 167,000 hours of their time in a single year. Their work goes well beyond what many people imagine: volunteers rescue climbers and lost walkers, yes, but they also provide first aid, support ambulance trusts in major incidents, assist in flood responses and help police with searches for missing people on and off the hills.

[Freddie van Mierlo (Henley and Thame) (LD)]

My hon. Friend will know that down in leafy Oxfordshire, we have far fewer mountains in our proximity than she does, but we do have rolling countryside and hazardous waterways. Lowland rescue plays a really important role as the counterpart to mountain rescue. It is also a charitable, volunteer-led organisation. Will she join me in praising its work to find vulnerable people and make sure they come home safely?

[Lisa Smart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for giving a shout-out to those involved in lowland rescue. I know there is a whole search and rescue community, including those who look at caves and other environments, and I am glad that he gave me the opportunity to thank all those involved in the great work of lowland rescue.

As climate change leads to more extreme weather events, rescue teams are increasingly a de facto fourth emergency service. The 24% rise in call-outs over five years reflects the growing popularity of outdoor activities. That is to be welcomed, but it puts real pressure on rescue teams, and social media is a significant driver. The chief executive officer of Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Mike Park, has spoken of a shift in the types of visitors to upland areas, as people are drawn to locations by striking footage online without always understanding the conditions or the hazards involved. Chief superintendent of North Wales Police Owain Llewellyn described an “almost unprecedented” rise in visitors to the Eryri national park as a direct result of social media posts and a corresponding increase in call-outs.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

Will the hon. Lady give way?

[Lisa Smart]

If only for a correction of my pronunciation, I would welcome an intervention.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

I thank the hon. Lady very much for mentioning Owain Llewellyn of North Wales Police. Of course we see immense increases in the population present in the North Wales Police region; given the present police funding arrangements, it is very challenging to deal with those tourism pressures, which are only increasing. Does she agree that, alongside volunteer rescue teams, the funding for all emergency services needs to reflect the reality of population pressures?

[Lisa Smart]

I strongly agree with the right hon. Lady on making sure that all our emergency services are properly resourced to do the job that we rightly expect them to do. I also agree that the organisation of our police forces across our whole country should reflect the differing needs in urban and rural areas—although there are some overlaps—and that police should be resourced to address them.

The British Mountaineering Council has been direct about what the increase in outdoor activity means for teams. It has warned that the current situation is “not sustainable” and has raised serious concerns about volunteer wellbeing and the risk that teams could reach a point where they are unable to respond safely to every call. That is not a scenario that any of us should be willing to accept.

Mountain rescue teams in England and Wales receive no direct Government funding. They rely entirely on donations, fundraising and legacies, and each team costs between £50,000 and £100,000 a year to run. In the year ending December 2024, Mountain Rescue England and Wales had total income of just over £1.2 million, against expenditure of nearly £1.3 million, so it is already running at a deficit while managing nearly 3,800 emergencies in a single year. Compare that with Scotland, where the Scottish Government provides £300,000 a year to be shared between 27 teams. Notably, that grant was introduced in 2003 under the Scottish Liberal Democrat-Labour coalition. That demonstrates that when political will exists, direct public investment in these services is entirely achievable.

The previous UK Government did provide occasional grants to mountain rescue teams in England and Wales, including in 2020, when 11 teams received one-off grants totalling just under £150,000, and this Government have taken some positive steps. The 2025 autumn Budget included the exemption of search and rescue vehicles from vehicle excise duty but, although that was warmly received, it does not address the structural funding gap that these organisations face.

In June last year, the all-party parliamentary group for volunteer search and rescue was established, and it has since set out a clear case for what further Government action should look like. The most significant proposal is that search and rescue volunteers should receive the same status as Army reservists and special constables. That would result in paid leave from employers for search and rescue training and recompense for loss of earnings when attending a call-out during working hours, because at present, a volunteer responding to a call-out on a random weekday afternoon may be losing wages to do so. That is a real barrier to recruitment and retention that the Government have the power to address. The APPG has also called for Crown indemnity insurance cover for search and rescue teams, a dedicated Minister to engage with volunteer search and rescue groups and a VAT exemption on vehicles, building on last year’s vehicle excise duty announcement. The Liberal Democrats fully support those proposals.

There is one issue in particular that I want to raise, which requires urgent action. It was brought directly to my attention by a member of the Kinder Mountain Rescue Team; along with the Glossop team, that team covers my Hazel Grove constituency and the surrounding areas, which include some of the best walking routes in existence. At a Delegated Legislation Committee last week, my hon. Friend the Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire) raised some changes being made to Care Quality Commission registration during a discussion on amendments to the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The Government have moved to regulate independent medical care at temporary sporting and cultural events. Previous exemptions that allowed some medical providers to operate without CQC registration have been removed.

[Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)]

I did indeed make that point in a Delegated Legislation Committee. Our key concern is that rescue cover is not exempt, and mountain rescue teams have therefore said that they will not be able to provide cover at many events, including fell races and mountain biking events, that outdoor enthusiasts like me enjoy. We should be encouraging individuals to participate in these events, and at the moment, they are not going to take place.

[Lisa Smart]

strongly agree with my hon. Friend’s point. We understand the reasons behind the regulations—they follow on from the Manchester Arena inquiry, which raised important concerns about the provision of healthcare at sporting and cultural events—but we do not want the unintended consequences to mean that it is difficult for mountain rescue teams to offer support and cover for events.

Steps to regulate and improve the way in which healthcare at sporting and cultural events is provided should be welcomed. Public safety should always be a priority. However, the regulations will have severe unintended consequences for mountain rescue. Many teams provide medical cover at fell races, mountain bike events and other outdoor sporting activities; they do not charge, but they typically receive donations in return—income that helps to sustain the broader work of the team. Nationally, covering such events raises more than £200,000 annually, and that vital funding allows voluntary teams to provide their free rescue services.

Under the new rules, providing that cover now requires CQC registration, and the regulations go further than many might assume. Even when rescue cover is provided by non-healthcare professionals or team members holding the remote rescue medical technician qualification, or when advice from a healthcare professional is merely available over the phone, it would constitute a requirement for registration and inspection, according to the CQC. That is surely disproportionate overreach.

The medical director for Mountain Rescue England and Wales, Dr Alistair Morris, stated that the cost and administrative burden of registration would outweigh the financial benefit that teams receive from the donations. His assessment is that most mountain rescue teams will just stop providing cover at these events as a result. Dr Oliver Pratt contacted me recently to raise those concerns, as well as concerns about how the requirements would affect the Kinder Mountain Rescue Team, who are represented in the Public Gallery today.

The consequences of teams withdrawing from event cover go beyond lost income, because without a mountain rescue presence at these events, teams would be forced to scramble from their homes should an injury occur. That lengthens response times, with potentially serious implications for patient outcomes. No commercial event medical company provides full rescue cover in remote terrain, so the local mountain rescue team would be called out anyway, but would likely arrive later and be less well prepared. There is also a broader loss: attendance at local events raises the profile of teams in the outdoor community, provides opportunities for education and the promotion of safe practice on the hills, and helps with volunteer recruitment. The regulations risk severing that connection entirely.

When this issue was raised in Committee, the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Dr Ahmed), stated that he did

“not want small events…to be overregulated”

or

“volunteers to be over-burdened with financial registration fees”—[Official Report, Fifth Delegated Legislation Committee, 15 April 2026; c. 9.]

He promised to look into that point with the CQC. We welcome that intention, but an intention is not yet a solution. Mountain Rescue England and Wales has formally requested an exemption for rescue cover, and that request remains unanswered. The Minister responding to today’s debate is not responsible for this piece of delegated health and social care legislation, but I would welcome her meeting mountain rescue representatives and working to bring forward that exemption. I am grateful that the CQC has written to me ahead of this debate, and I welcome its commitment to dedicated engagement with mountain rescue teams; but teams planning their events season now need greater clarity, faster. Guidance is not the same as the exemption that Mountain Rescue England and Wales has requested.

Mountain rescue teams are a vital part of our emergency infrastructure, and we should all want them to thrive, not have their ability to do so held back by legislative overreach. I look forward to the debate.

--- Later in debate ---

[Lisa Smart]

We have had a particularly strong debate this afternoon. We have reminded one another that mountain rescue teams are a vital part of our emergency infrastructure, and we believe that their importance will only grow. We want our communities to be out enjoying our great outdoors, because it belongs to all of us. My hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale (Tim Farron) reminded us of the value of being outdoors for all of us, but also the need to respect nature.

We had a number of really excellent contributions from across the Chamber today. The hon. Member for Bolton West (Phil Brickell), my fellow Greater Manchester MP, reminded us that mountain rescue teams are out 24/7 and available 365 days a year. He also raised an important point about the expiry dates on medicines. That was a very well-made point.

We had some interventions from the hon. Member for Keighley and Ilkley (Robbie Moore) and my hon. Friends the Members for Henley and Thame (Freddie van Mierlo), for North Cornwall (Ben Maguire) and for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire), who reminded us of the existence of lowland rescue, the importance of the mental health of the volunteers who are involved and the burdens of the CQC regulations.

As he often does, the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) brought the very important perspective from Northern Ireland. He talked about the importance of that long-term, sustainable strategic funding for rescue services. I am grateful to him.

The hon. Member for Stirling and Strathallan (Chris Kane) made such an important point about how, in some parts of the country, mountain rescue teams are the only emergency service working. That was an extremely well-made point.

My hon. Friend the Member for Westmorland and Lonsdale reminded us that the cost can be extremely high for those who volunteer their time and their energy, and he was absolutely right to pay tribute to Chris Lewis. I join others in sending my condolences to the whole community, because that loss will be felt keenly.

Several hon. and right hon. Members made the point about the need to have a single point of contact. The Minister here is not able to speak on behalf of all of her colleagues, which made the point very well. The right hon. Member for Dwyfor Meirionnydd (Liz Saville Roberts) helped me to understand the correct pronunciation of Eryri, and reminded us just how dangerous it can be to spend time in the outdoors in places that might look absolutely banging on social media but are deeply inappropriate to spend time in for someone who is not a professional and does not have the back-up.

I just want to spend a moment on the risk-taking behaviour of the Front-Bench colleagues who are here today and were able to speak from first-hand experience. My hon. Friend the Member for Didcot and Wantage (Olly Glover) got stuck up an Italian mountain, but had a very good outcome. We are delighted that he is here to join us today. The shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Broadland and Fakenham (Jerome Mayhew), told us that he learned his lessons in youth, and reminded us that overconfidence in youth is not a new phenomenon—it is not something that has only been brought about by social media.

The shadow Minister described those who volunteer for mountain rescue services as self-sufficient and tough. He is absolutely right to do so, but we should not rely on that sort of person and that sort of organisation to do it all for themselves. It is a real sign of strength to ask for help, so I save particular thanks for those people from Mountain Rescue England and Wales, and my local mountain rescue teams—some of whom are in the Public Gallery today—who took the time to contact me and to brief a number of Members. They have made a massive difference to our country, and I am so grateful.

Question put and agreed to.

Resolved,

That this House has considered Government support for mountain rescue.