 I will give a five-night in my business today as a member's business debate on motion number 12759, in the name of David Torrance, on congratulations to Kinghorn Lifeboat station on its 50th anniversary. The debate will be concluded without any questions being put, but I would invite those members who wish to speak in the debate to please press the request to speak buttons now or as soon as possible. Without further ado, I call on Mr Torrance to open the debate. Seven minutes or thereby Mr Torrance please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I'd like to welcome to a public gallery today from Kinghorn Lifeboat Station, Al MacAurevae, operations manager. John Wibbley, Helm, Leanne Fisher, Helm, Elizabeth Davidson, Deputy Launcher in the Forty, Charles Tillock, MBE, former operations manager, who has served for over 40 years, and Shazam Gilfellar, Treasurer and Kinghorn Community Council. Founded in 1824, the R&L I has a long fascinating life-saving history, and one of which we should be justified by proud. The main purpose of R&L I is to save lives at the sea by providing on-call 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue service, and a seasonal lifeguard service, with the ultimate vision of preventing loss of life at sea. The first inshore lifeboat station in Scotland was established in Brotferry in 1840, 175 years ago. The inshore rescue boat at Kinghorn was formally established on June 26, 1965, and was very soon in action on June 27, a memorable day in many respects, in one of which the legendary Jim Clark won the French Grand Prix. The lifeboat was called out. A catamaran with three crew found itself in difficulty passing close to Unschief Island, and the station's first service call took place. The rescue boat was manned by two men, one of whom was George Tillock, the older brother of Charles Tillock, who is in the garage today, and who helped to launch a rescue boat. Coincidentally, one of the men who set out to rescue that day on the catamaran was Charles's twin brother, Gordon. Thankfully, the incident was resolved and successfully for all concerned. Since its inception 50 years ago, Kinghorn Lifeboat Station has played a vital role in helping those in difficulty in surrounding waters. The housing of a new craft was initially in a wooden garage constructed on common ground behind what is now a sailing club. It is still there today, and continues to be painted in the dark blue colour of a RNLI. Although most insur boats were expected to have an operating area of a few miles, in those days Kinghorn covered most of the four. Manda is today by volunteers. Conditions 50 years ago were less unfairable for the brave men called out to help those in distress. Initially, it went out in plastic trousers and plastic spocks, as well as a culpec filled life jackets, supplemented by old, wooled jerseys and wooly hearts provided by the men themselves. Not really adequate protection for getting into a boat or stormy seas they often face when called out. The first boats, although very manoeuvrable, had little or no keel, resulting in an uncomfortable and awful painful ride for the volunteers already soaked from launching the vessel. To add to the difficulties they faced in early days, the rescue boats did not have a radio and in attempts to recall the boat in severe weather conditions. Through the use of flashing out of the slump, it was often unsuccessful. That was problematic for many years to come, and various alternatives were tried, including firing a green flare and firing another maroon one. When on exercise, the crew always remained in sight of Kinghorn beach, because a white sheet would be hung out of secondary story window if it were needed to come ashore and be tasked to a rescue. Thankfully, more modern and up-to-date equipment makes it easier and safer for the crews when participating in exercises or helping those in distress. One of my favourite stories is that of the time the inshore rescue boat set off from Kinghorn to aid in the rescue of a stricken ding ding near Kirkcaldy, not by sea but by road, towed by a crew member's land rover. A police panda car was sent to a promenade in Kirkcaldy to escort the vehicle, but a crew member was not impressed with the progress being made, and all of a sudden the lifeboat overtook the police car, much too concerned of the other crew members. Lifeboat stations such as that at Kinghorn play a vital part in coastal communities, in protecting those people in the area who use the sea for fishing or leisure activities, as well as helping those who use the sea passing who find themselves in trouble. I personally have cause to be thankful to them, as in the 80s my brother found himself in difficulty at sea in Kinghorn and was grateful for the assistance that was left by Kinghorn Lifeboat Station. They were also committed to managing their impact on the environment and could be called upon to help to protect marine life. One such incident occurred when Arm Macarevy, the current operations manager, was part of an operation to assist marine biologists. Having the sad task of towing a body of a beak whale off a sand at Peraker beach, they proceeded to drum sands on the south side of Forth, where they were instrumental in rescuing a dolphin and taking it into deep waters off its comb and happily watched it head down the river to freedom. The RNLI and indeed Kinghorn Lifeboat Station depend on volunteer crews, who are unpaired and prepared to put their own lives at risk to save others. That requires skill, courage and time. They are also called 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, often putting out to sea in total darkness and terrifying conditions. Although initially only male crews, there have been females in Kinghorn Lifeboat Stations since the mid-90s, three of whom are also on their galleries today. Women have demonstrated their ability to work alongside their male colleagues naturally and effortlessly, providing equal to any task assigned to them and, as someone says, proving to be far better equipped to deal with some of the situations than their male counterparts. In order for men and women to do their job effectively, however, training and equipment is required on top of the annual running costs of an inshore lifeboat station like Kinghorn, which amounts to £85,000 a year. That can only be sustained through the generosity of the public and the support provided by them. Through a variety of fundraising events within the community, £20 can keep a lifeboat running at full speed for 10 minutes. Kinghorn RNLI station has close links with the local community, and the holding fundraising events in this 50th anniversary year, they are putting the boat out. With a year of events with a golden theme, they began the year with a golden loonydoog around 80 people took part and resulted in £620 denated on the day of the event with further sponsorship expected to boost the total. Other fundraising events have included volunteers swelling the forth to raise funds, venturing out of a boat house at Stormy Stan, making pancakes and even being able to metamorphose into a witch for the spooky walk. In this 50th anniversary year, I commend Kinghorn Lifeboat station and all those who have given their time to serve as volunteer crew members, or in another capacity and those who have generally supported them in whatever way they could. The dedication of those who have served as crew members and those who have supported them has enabled the station to complete nearly 1,300 call-outs over the past 50 years and has saved around 389 lives. In conclusion, in congratulation of Kinghorn Lifeboat station on its 50th anniversary, I would like to reiterate that it is an organisation that truly serves the community and the surrounding area in so many different ways and indeed is deserving of tremendous support that has received over the years from the people of Kinghorn. I applaud not only the members of the station but the people of Kinghorn for their efforts and wish them well for the future. Many thanks. I now call on Claire Baker to be followed by Roderick Campbell. Four minutes thereby please. Thank you, Presiding Officer. I would first like to thank David Torrance for securing the time this afternoon to have this debate. Debates which congratulate and acknowledge the immense contribution that local organisations and volunteers make to our communities are always welcome. I would also like to welcome our visitors from Kinghorn to the gallery. It is right that the Parliament, along with all the political debates that we have, has the time to come together and welcome the achievements of people and organisations in our regions. Kinghorn Lifeboat station deserves this recognition. Established in 1965 for 50 years, it has been looking after and serving our coastline. Its responsibility stretches from Elid to North Berwick and includes the Forth bridges. It is amazing and reveals such dedication that those lifeboat stations are run by volunteers and the funding is done by raising money through the RNLI. As a fifer who goes to local events, she will always find the RNLI stall promoting their cause and raising money. I think that at the last event I came here with a dolphin bracelet. That was not for me, I have to say. I am also a fifer who, over the years, has spent many sunny days on Kinghorn beach and watching for activity from the lifeboat station is one of the ways to pass the time. Fife has a busy coastline. We have commercial activity and leisure activity in our seas. As I drove home last night from a school concert in Aberhill primary school home to Burnt Island, there is so much to see in the drive along the coast from industrial platforms, cruise ships and sailing boats. The lifeboat station supports and protects all those activities. It was interesting to look at the station's history and to see that, when it was established in 1965, it was partly in response to growing leisure activity in the seas. RNLI has recently launched the Respect the Water campaign, which focuses on staying safe when enjoying watersports and waterside activities such as kite surfing, kayaking, beach visits and sailing. The sea is to be enjoyed but we all have a responsibility to take care of ourselves and others. The lifeboat station provides valuable assistance to the Coast Guard Agency, which depends on the service. It is a huge achievement to maintain a highly trained and dedicated crew, all volunteers who are available and ready 24 hours a day every single day of the year. For the volunteers at Kinghorn and around the country, we should offer our thanks. The highly skilled volunteer crews demonstrate courage and commitment, as well as giving their time. They are prepared to go out at sea in terrible conditions, often in the middle of the night, when the call for assistance comes. I would also like to thank the volunteers who run the organisation and do all the fundraising. David Torrance has outlined the range of fundraising activity that they do in Kinghorn, attractions that bring in people from all over Fife, the Halloween walks and the Looney Duke being two of the highlights. Fundraising can be difficult but the strengthening links between the lifeboat station and the community help to support this activity. I welcome all the golden anniversary events being held this year and I wish them much success. Earlier this year, the lifeboat station photography project started with support from RNLI. Photographer Jack Lowe aims to visit every lifeboat station in Britain and Ireland and document each station using Victorian photography methods. This will culminate in an exhibition where each glass plate is hung geographically around a huge room, which will give a vision of the entire coastline of the British Isles depicted through lifeboat stations. If that is completed, it will give a sense of history and demonstrate their dedication to country and community. For Kinghorn, this is a time of celebration. Fifty years of service is an achievement to be honoured and I want to give thanks, I am sure, along with every member in this Parliament, for the immense work that our lifeboat station does, twenty-four hours a day, three hundred and sixty-five days a year. Thank you Presiding Officer. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to speak on the subject of Kinghorn lifeboat station and I commend David Torrance for bringing the subject to the chamber today. As with all emergency services, the job that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution does is too easily taken for granted and so an occasion such as this is a valuable opportunity to remind ourselves of the life-saving service that they provide. The fact that the RNLI is entirely composed of volunteers, further underlines the sacrifice that they make and that this is honoured three hundred and sixty-five days a year, 24x7 basis, makes us all the more commendable. The RNLI, which is worth reminding ourselves, is in fact a charity with its headquarters and college at Pool in Dorset, has a network of stations throughout the UK that function purely as a result of the commitment of their volunteer crews. This network consists of two hundred and thirty-six lifeboat stations, one of which is Kinghorn based on the coast of Fife, which covers an extensive area along the Firth of Forth from Ely in my own constituency to North Berwick. For those not well acquainted with the sea, this is an environment that must not be underestimated, but so often is, that can turn very quickly and unexpectedly from a serene flat calm setting to an extremely hostile one in a very short space of time. The sea is a force to be reckoned with and anyone that does not take heed of this literally throws the dice every time they embark on its surface. It is in this inherently dangerous and changeable arena that crews so often find themselves being called upon to operate. They have to save lives sea, the most recent of which for Kinghorn lifeboat station was a call on Wednesday the 17th of June this year. It's a much more difficult task since the UK government's decision to close the Fife coast guard station in 2012, causing remaining stations to have to cover a much larger area than before. The crew of Kinghorn has been in place since 1965, as has been mentioned, and has made progress in obtaining better craft to their current model of the Atlantic 85-class RNLI lifeboat. This rigid inflatable boat is 8.3 metres long and can reach speeds of up to 35 knots in order to reach those in peril at sea. This can be achieved in sea conditions up to those associated with onshore winds of 4-7. Faluated at 185,000, it's no mean feat that this has been provided as a direct result of fundraising by devoted crews and RNLI members across the country. If that was not enough, the lifeboat must be launched from its own drive-on-drive-off trailer, otherwise known as DoDo, that is moved by a launching tractor. Faluated at £120,000, it allows the crew to move the boat from the station situated at the west end of Kinghorn beach into the sea after crossing some distance across the beach, depending on the tide. I look forward to catching this on The Fountainbridge show on STV in the coming weeks, as I understand that some filming took place recently. The station has been in its current form since 1995 and can be accessed via the promenade to the east or a set of stairs down the hill to the west. It's setting within the local community is wholly appropriate, given the incredible relentless support that is received from there. Being a crew member of the RNLI does not stop at performing rescues, although at 1,300 callouts since the station was established, there is clearly a huge achievement saving around 389 lives. Fundraising is an essential part of the crew's duty, without which the RNLI would simply cease to exist. Therefore, I am pleased to publicise the upcoming events, including the open day to be held on 11 July this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary. This is on top of five other published events earlier this year. The fact that those events occur at all is down to the commitment of nine members of the committee, headed up by the president, Shiona Baxter. I would like to commend the committee for their hard work. The nature of those endeavours mean that they often go unseen, however they must not go unrecognised. I am sure that all members would join with me in congratulating Kinghorn Lifeboat station crew, the Kinghorn community and the RNLI in their work, and all that goes with it is a huge contribution to Fife and all persons that rely on them to allow them to take to the sea. With the confidence that there is a professional volunteer force ready to react should the need arise. I thank David Torrance for presenting the motion to Parliament. I congratulate Kinghorn Lifeboat station and wish it a very happy 50th golden anniversary as it was. There are certain charities that are held in particularly high public esteem. I have no doubt whatsoever that they are in LI Lifeboats is one of them. Indeed, the lifeboats and their stations are, to me, iconic symbols of the very best in public service and Kinghorn is exactly that. The station has, of course, had many remarkable stories. David Torrance mentioned the station's first call-out, which was, did you say, 24 hours within its founding to rescue the pilots of a catamaran whose mast had snapped? Desperate were they to avoid being saved by the volunteers? They really tried very hard to beat them off with their paddles, if I heard you correctly. Obviously, there have been other instances. I think that somebody made a very quick exit from a special wedding with local people. Obviously, you had the Queen's baton in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games. As I hasten to add a very young child, I have a very vague memory of my father, who was a very proud pfeifer, taking me to see the new Kinghorn Lifeboat station in 1965, not long after the new fourth road bridge was opened in the previous September. My mother still recalls my father being extremely impressed by what he saw. As David Torrance has made clear, lifeboats have been launched from the station more than 1,000 times, and they have obviously saved the lives of just under 400 people as the motion states. One of the most interesting aspects for me is the social history, as well as the maritime history. Clearly, the Tulloch family is best placed to know exactly what has been involved. They have been quite extraordinary in their support. In the interview with Fife Today in April, Charlie commented on how much of the process of a call-out and the boat itself have changed over the years. He describes it about the first lifeboat arriving in Kinghorn was actually launched by hand and you had to get wet whilst doing so, not like the current boat where we have dry suits, gloves and even seats in the boat. I believe that Charlie Tulloch exemplifies what I said about the iconic symbol of the best public service and well deserved of his honour in that respect. I know that everybody in the chamber will support that. I also say to Claire Baker that I entirely agree with her comments about the fundraising efforts of all those who have been connected to the station and the local community. In the past, volunteers have swum the forth. They have had all kinds of fundraising events and gathered donations at the door. The way in which that has taken place shows the love and affection for the station. To put all the donations in context, David Torrance said that £20 can keep a lifeboat running for 10 minutes at full tilt or purchase a first aid trauma kit that could save someone's lives. That puts it very much in perspective. I do not really think that we can praise them high enough for all that they have done. They are magnificent and they provide that security and feeling of safety to many people who take to the seas, but they are part of the intrinsic value of the community and, for that alone, I think that they deserve all the praise that we can lay on them. I now call Stewart Stevenson, after which I move to closing the speech of the minister. Let me start as a properly shooting congratulating David Torrance in bringing this subject to Parliament's attention, giving us the opportunity to debate it. For me, of course, the lifeboats are a very important part of my constituency. We have four lifeboat stations at Bucky, at McDuff, at Fraserborough and Peterhead, because we are essentially a coastal constituency. I know how much my constituency's value of having the lifeboats, the security of knowing that there is someone on standby who knows what they are doing and has the equipment to do it. Hearing of what goes on in Kinghorn is no surprise to find the esteem that the lifeboat service is held in Kinghorn. Kinghorn, of course, has had many maritime connections from the death of Alexander III in 1286, which meant that the Maid of Norway became the Queen of Scotland at the age of three years and then drowned off St Margaret's hope in 1290 and caused the wars of independence that underpinned much of the history of Scotland of those times and resonates to today. Kinghorn has a history around the sea and a history on the lifeboat. I was interested to read about the early experience of the lifeboat there in 1965, risking leisure sailors, or perhaps not, because they did not want to be. I myself used to do a lot of dinghy sailing. I am just not quite sure that I would be out at Kinghorn on that particular day, but I would love to go back and look at my records and find that it is pretty confident that it is actually not the case. Of course, the lifeboats that we have today in Kinghorn and elsewhere are quite high-tech and we want to go back to what the first rescue boats were. There were actually cobbles with a couple of guys rowing them and somebody in the stern steering the boat towards the vessel in distress. We have made a lot of progress in professionalising and improving the quality of support that we have. Claire Baker mentioned the respect for the water campaign. It is as well to remind ourselves that the sea is a cruel mistress and can be very dangerous. I do not know how many of us are aware that one cubic metre of water weighs a ton. When water is coming in waves, that is not a trivial matter. It is not like the water that we are in the bath and we feel that it is comfortable, warm and surrounded. Once we are out at sea, water can be one of the most dangerous prospects. Any fisherman in my constituency, leisure yachts in Kinghorn or, indeed, aviators who have taken off from the airport at Edinburgh and have come to grief in the fourth, as was the case. On one particular occasion—I am just slightly uncertain whether it was the answer of the boat or the Kinghorn boat—even going to the rescue of the pirate ship Comet, who was broadcasting Radio Scotland between 1966 and 1967 off the Bell Rock on one occasion when the anchors were drifting, the lifeboat had to go out and help that. So there is a wide range of activities that the lifeboats get involved in. I caused by just leaving you with a little humorous remark that one of my constituents made about his service on the lifeboat and the conditions that he often experienced when he is there. If I may put it in this term, he said that it is the best cure for constipation that he has ever met. Just enough information there. I now call on the minister to close the debate on behalf of the Government. Minister, seven minutes are thereby pleased. Thank you, Presiding Officer. Like all the members, I am delighted that we have the opportunity to commend the Kinghorn lifeboat station and its volunteer crews for all the valuable work that they do in saving lives along both sides of the fourth. The crews have given their time, their effort to serve all those using the waters in the surrounding area for 50 years now. It is a great pleasure for me to thank the many people who have made such an important contribution to Kinghorn in the surrounding area and to extend those thanks to the RNLI and their lifeboat crews across Scotland. Kinghorn lifeboat station, as we have heard, is an RNLI-funded and operated rescue station on the coast of Fife, situated three miles from Cercodi and across the fourth estuary from Edinburgh, the city of which I am proud to represent a part. It is available and ready 24 hours a day every single day of the year to assist the MCA in effecting rescues between Ely, Ness, Aberlady to the east and Ingecombe, Granton to the west. The Kinghorn lifeboat, as we have heard, was first launched in 1965. As David Torrance pointed out, just a very short time after it was instituted, it was called to its first use. Since then, it has been launched over 1,000 times in the 50 years to save lives at sea and along the coastline. The RNLI's volunteers and staff strive for excellence. They are selfless, willing to put requirements on others before their own needs of the team before the individual. They are dependable, always available, committed to doing their part in saving lives with professionalism and expertise. They are trustworthy, responsible, accountable and efficient in the use of the donations entrusted to the RNLI by their supporters. They are also courageous because they are prepared to achieve those aims in changing and challenging environments that I think most of us would shrink back from. The RNLI has been an essential part of our lives as a country now for nearly 200 years. The statistics speak for themselves. In 2013, there were 8,304 launches across the UK. That is an average of 23 a day. More importantly, a total of 8,384 people were rescued during the same period. That is also an average of 23 people rescued every day. Closer to home, the Kinghorn Lifeboat regularly takes part in rescues along our coast, and, as has been said, it was launched as recently as 17 June. As with all lifeboats, the crews are all volunteers. The particular expertise is in the preservation of life at sea and on the water through prevention and rescue. It is part of a proud tradition of saving lives spanning nearly two centuries. Available 24-7, whatever the weather, to rescue those who need help. While the volunteer crews are the backbone of the lifeboat service, physically going out there and saving the lives at sea, it takes many more volunteers to run a lifeboat station effectively, and we should recognise all of them. The Lifeboat Operations Manager, who is in charge of authorising launches and managing the station day to day, the Lifeboat Management Group is also, again, volunteers representing the station in the local community. Of course, the volunteers who also lead the fundraising efforts that support the lifeboat's valuable work, the RNLI, are very clear and always have been that they do not seek funding from central government. I am glad to welcome such a range of people who have participated in all of those ways here to Parliament. I have been impressed by the range of fundraising activity that I have seen undertaken on behalf of the Kinghorn Lifeboat, from the Spooky Walks to the Looney Dooke, but I want to assure the MSP for Cercodi, my hon. colleague, that if he was to invite the minister to take part in the latter event, I would have to be finding something else to do that evening. I think that the level of support, the level of activity shows the importance of the lifeboat, not just as a service, but as a cherished indispensable part of the community as a whole. The volunteers who run lifeboat stations and crew lifeboats are just a small part, the huge range of formal and informal volunteering that goes on across Scotland throughout the year. Over a million people volunteer in Scotland each year, in a wide range of circumstances, from on our seas to in our care homes. The Scottish Government recognises the contribution that our volunteers make to the lives of individuals and communities across Scotland. Volunteers of all ages are what makes our society strong. They are vital to the success of this country and often play a major part in building the confidence of those who feel marginalised in our society, giving them an outlet to realise their potential, develop their talents and skills and to find new ways to lead healthy, fulfilled lives, and then, indeed, with the economic dimension of being able to become more economically active. There is no doubt that volunteering helps individuals, organisations and communities, and we are proud that Scotland has so many people willing to give their time and effort to strengthen their communities and help those less fortunate themselves, indeed even at the risk of their own lives. Their involvement reflects a community spirit of active, responsible citizenship that we should all aspire to. We are well renowned as a country for a community spirit where so many are making a difference in their own communities, but without any fanfare, doing what they believe in, without any expectation of a great reward, unsung heroes and heroines. Today, it is fitting that we take a moment to recognise them. What motivates individuals to get involved will vary, but what is impressive is the determination to make a difference and what they achieve with the skills and experience that they bring to bear. I am proud that Scotland has so many people who care and are willing to give their own time and effort. Well done to the Kinghorn Lifeboat crews who have done so much over the last 50 years since the Kinghorn Lifeboat was first launched. Thank you to all of them. The Government recognises the vital, often dangerous role that you play in serving those who use the waters in Kinghorn and the surrounding area and the wider role of the RNLI throughout Scotland. David Torrance cited 389 people saved by the Kinghorn Lifeboat. That is 389 people whose lives went on, who could raise families, be with friends and continue to be loved rather than mourned. There are no words from me that could ever carry more weight than the simple truth of all those lives touched by Kinghorn Lifeboat's work. Thank you. I now close this meeting of Parliament.