Neither the RN of the RAF are private enterprises taking over a public service that is at present, highly regarded.
When the KPIs that Jim lists are reported back to the Transport Select Committee in a few years, statistics may give the appearance that everything is working out fine. It is easy to pull the wool over the eyes of non-aviators. Just seeing the aircraft in the sky and seeing it in the news from time to time will be sufficient to convince some that there has been no loss in capability. Unless a team of sufficiently experienced, independent evaluaters are able to report back on the actual flying capabilities of the aircrew, then this most important of performance indicators will be lost. Do the CAA have sufficently experienced SAR pilots and aircrewmen to fully evaluate the performance of an entire crew?