Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 16 October 2018 to Question 177630 on Shipping: Minimum wage, when the meeting with the responsible Minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy took place; what progress has been made in discussions between officials in his Department and their counterparts in BEIS; and on what date he plans to formally publish the recommendations of the legal working group.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Department engages regularly with other government departments on the introduction of national minimum wage for seafarers. I will be meeting the responsible Minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy shortly.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to speed up the process by which the Civil Aviation Authority issues private pilots' licenses.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The number of flight crew licence applications received by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has grown by more than 25 per cent this year. The CAA has responded by recruiting and training more licensing officers, increasing overtime, and pre-screening applications to ensure all the required information has been received. The CAA is also working with key stakeholders to identify improvements which will help to simplify and speed up the application process for both commercial and private pilots.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the recommendations of the legal working group set up to consider the application of the national minimum wage to seafarers.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
Whilst Department for Transport lead on this policy, BEIS have overall policy ownership of National Minimum Wage. I intend to meet with the new Minister shortly and my officials are regularly liaising with BEIS officials to ensure smooth progression of this policy. The recommendations will be published following the conclusion of those discussions.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of appeals against the DVLA for decisions relating to (a) penalty points and (b) driving licence (i) suspensions and (ii) revocations were upheld in the last calendar year.
Answered by Jesse Norman
Only the courts can order penalty points to be applied to a driver’s licence. Appeals against penalty points and other driving convictions are not appeals against the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
The DVLA can revoke driving licences in certain circumstances, usually if the driver does not meet the medical standards for fitness to drive, or does not have leave to remain in the UK. In 2017, there were 226 appeals against driving licence revocations, three of which were upheld by the courts.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what the timetable is for making the changes required to the legislative framework to extend entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay to all merchant seafarers working in territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Maritime 2050: Call for evidence consultation document sought views on a long term maritime strategy. Under the ‘people’ theme the document aims to identify the most viable UK position that meets the nation’s needs on skills, training and employment in 2050.
A legal working group has been considering the current application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to seafarers working in the UK and whether legislative changes are necessary. The Minister for Maritime has received recommendations from the group concerning the extension of the NMW and the Government is considering these recommendations.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to paragraph 3.32 of his Department's consultation document entitled Maritime 2050: Call for evidence, published on 27 March 2018, what assessment he has made of the changes required to the legislative framework to extend entitlement to national minimum wage rates of pay to all merchant seafarers working in territorial waters and on one port voyages to offshore energy installations.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani - Minister of State (Minister for Europe)
The Maritime 2050: Call for evidence consultation document sought views on a long term maritime strategy. Under the ‘people’ theme the document aims to identify the most viable UK position that meets the nation’s needs on skills, training and employment in 2050.
A legal working group has been considering the current application of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) to seafarers working in the UK and whether legislative changes are necessary. The Minister for Maritime has received recommendations from the group concerning the extension of the NMW and the Government is considering these recommendations.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 26 October 2017 to Question 109053, on shipping: minimum wage, what progress the legal working group made at its meeting on 1 November 2017.
Answered by John Hayes
Good progress was made and the Group has agreed in principle a recommendation to be submitted to myself before Christmas.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his letter, ref MC/204080, what progress has been made on the work of the legal working group tasked with the review of the application of the national minimum wage to seafarers working in UK waters.
Answered by John Hayes
The Legal Working Group will meet again on 1st November. Progress has been made and there is a legislative proposal forming that has general consensus within the Group.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent representations he has received about the future of the emergency towing vessels in the Northern Isles; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Robert Goodwill
I have received a number of representations from those in Scotland with an interest in the future provision of an Emergency Towing Vessel operating from the Northern Isles.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is hosting a meeting in Edinburgh on 10 February to consultwith interested parties on the need and scope of putting alternative towing arrangements in place beyond 31 March 2016.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidelines his Department has on the maximum travel time for people who need to undergo a medical driving assessment to a centre where they can undergo that assessment; and if he will estimate the proportion of such people in Scotland who live outside that maximum travel time.
Answered by Andrew Jones
The Department for Transport does not issue guidelines on the maximum travel time a person would be expected to spend travelling to a driving assessment.
Depending on the medical condition being investigated, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) will either utilise an assessment performed by the applicant’s nearest Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency test centre or a disability assessment centre. The disability assessment centres are independent and provide a service to the DVLA. While the DVLA sets the standards required for the assessments, it is unable to influence the location of the centres.