Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team 'delighted' to secure grants amid claims police pulled insurance cover

Cairngorm Mountain Rescue Team (MRT) said it was left “very vulnerable” amid claims Police Scotland had halted some insurance cover payments, leading to volunteers being forced to cover an extra £23,000 a year since March 2024.

But on Thursday, Cairngorm MRT said it was “delighted” both it and Glencoe MRT had been allocated Scottish Government grants to help with the cost of their additional insurance. Cairngorm MRT said it received £20,020.

This has meant Cairngorm and Glencoe members are now protected from any liability whilst carrying out rescue work.

Police Scotland said it had communicated to each Scottish mountain rescue unit in 2023 that it was legally restricted from providing third party or medical malpractice insurance to other organisations.

Make sure you keep up to date with news from across Scotland by signing up to our free newsletter here.

It was claimed Cairngorm MRT’s police grant had also been reduced from £7,500 to £5,000. However, The Scotsman was told Police Scotland had provided increased grants since 2023, but the force could not stipulate exactly what the grant was to be used for.

Mountain rescue teams secure government funding after police pull insurances funding

Willie Anderson, from Cairngorm MRT, worked with Inverness and Nairn MSP Fergus Ewing to secure funding from the Scottish Government.

Mr Anderson thanked Mr Ewing for his “solid support” and for being the “prime mover” in resolving the issue.

Police Scotland withdrawal of insurance cover was ‘very strange decision’

Mr Ewing said he was “delighted” the Government had paid the insurance cover for rescue team members in the two teams.

He said: “These two rescue teams are not only two of the busiest in the country, but also those whose members go out on the hill in the worst of weathers, in conditions which often pose considerable risks to themselves.

“The withdrawal of insurance cover by the police in March 2024 seemed to me to be a very strange decision given that mountain rescue teams in Scotland all work under police orders.

“Mountain rescue team members are volunteers and can be exposed to significant risks to their own safety when on call-outs. Therefore public liability cover and medical insurance cover are surely essential.

“Given the service in Scotland is a voluntary one, it’s only right and fair that the state pay for the insurance cover and I am grateful that this has now been agreed, albeit after over a year of meetings and correspondence.”

Volunteering is ‘inherently risky’, ex-mountain rescue team member Ewing says

Mr Ewing, himself a former member of Lomond Mountain Rescue Team, was present at the 1987 call-out where Sergeant Harry Lawrie lost his life after falling about 200ft following a helicopter crash on Ben More.

“Memories of that night remain with me forever,” he said. “It is one of the finest voluntary services in Scotland, and I remember my own days as a member of the Lomond team with fondness and nostalgia.

“But it’s inherently risky and incidents do occur involving injury to team members and police in conducting rescues.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: "We provide personal accident insurance for all mountain rescue personnel, however we are legally restricted from providing third party or medical malpractice insurance to other organisations.”