C King - a more accurate assessment would be: facing the results of ignoring the need for more SH (NAO report in 02 I think) due to important investments like Bowman and Typhoon - the MoD has failed in its duty to supply enough front-line helicopters (and crews) to the ops in progress.
Moving SAR to a PFI won't provide any more SH helicopters (because you need better aircraft than the Sea King) and precious few crews (who might be NVG and mountain qualified but are not tactically trained).
We have already been reduced to 4 crews per flight but this has mostly been managed by not posting in replacements as guys and girls move on to other flts/retirement/QHI/promotion etc - I suspect the number that have gone to swell the SH cadre is in single figures. Shawbury is pumping out baby SH crews by the dozen but it's no good if there are not the aircraft to fly nor the infrastructure to train them.
The MoD may have decided (erronoeusly) that SAR isn't core business because it is non-deployable (with the present platform) and non-warfighting - but that is because they don't understand (or choose to ignore) what we do and that bravery and devotion to duty isn't confined to the battlefield.
The Flag Officer who thinks that all SAR crews do is sit on their asses clearly has his head up his own.
How about freeing all those 2 1/2s from pointless staff jobs or DHFS or ground appointments if he wants experienced crews in the 'stan??? Oh no that doesn't match the 'blame SAR for all our woes' mantra.
