Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 5 March 2025 to Question 34603 on Rolling Stock: Northern, what information her Department holds on the number of train cars in good working order but not in use by Northern.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Northern currently has 954 carriages that operate according to train service requirements set by the Department.
Train operators are responsible for ensuring that they meet the needs of customers by deploying the appropriate number of vehicles into service to deliver train services. The Department does not hold information in respect of the number of vehicles that are available for service but not in traffic, this is a matter for the operator who must make effective use of their fleet by balancing demand against maintenance, refurbishment and overhaul tasks.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications for (a) Navigational Watch Rating certificates, (b) Engine Room Watch Rating certificates, (c) Electro-Technical Watch Ratings Certificates, (d) Able Seafarer Deck Certificates of Proficiency and (e) Yacht Rating Certificates, were received by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2014-15; and how many were issued by the MCA in each of those years.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The MCA received the following applications and awarded the following Certificates in the years since 2014/15.
| Applications Received Annually |
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| Year | Navigational Watch Rating Certificate (NWRC) | Engine Room Watch Rating Certificate (ERWRC) | Electro-Technical Rating Certificate (ETRC) | Able Seafarer (AB) - Deck | Yacht Rating Certificate (YRC) | Total |
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| 14/15 | 246 | 37 | - | 109 | 392 |
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| 15/16 | 202 | 27 | - | 126 | 355 |
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| 16/17 | 193 | 34 | - | 157 | 384 |
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| 17/18 | 197 | 27 | - | 133 | 357 |
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| 18/19 | 96 | 22 | - | 104 | 222 |
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| 19/20 | 97 | 18 | - | 95 | 210 |
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| 20/21 | 129 | 22 | - | 122 | 273 |
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| 21/22 | 104 | 21 | - | 121 | 246 |
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| 22/23 | 228 | 35 | - | 140 | 403 |
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| 23/24 | 252 | 40 | - | 134 | 426 |
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| 24/25 | 228 | 56 | - | 158 | 442 |
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| Total | 1972 | 339 |
| 1399 | 3710 |
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| NB | Aug 2020 received data for ratings data wiped due to a retention policy on the file |
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| Certificates Issued Annually |
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| Year | Navigational Watch Rating Certificate (NWRC) | Engine Room Watch Rating Certificate (ERWRC) | Electro-Technical Rating Certificate (ETRC) | Able Seafarer (AB) - Deck | Yacht Rating Certificate (YRC) | Total |
|
| 14/15 | Non-Digital until April 2016 | Non-Digital until 06/2016 | N/A | - | Non-Digital until April 2016 | - |
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| 15/16 | Non-Digital until April 2016 | Non-Digital until 06/2016 | N/A | - | Non-Digital until April 2016 | - |
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| 16/17 | 138 | 24 | 4 | - | 126 | 292 |
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| 17/18 | 187 | 29 | 3 | - | 122 | 341 |
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| 18/19 | 133 | 23 | 3 | - | 63 | 222 |
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| 19/20 | 156 | 19 | 1 | - | 140 | 316 |
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| 20/21 | 159 | 18 | 6 | - | 145 | 328 |
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| 21/22 | 144 | 21 | 1 | - | 117 | 283 |
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| 22/23 | 145 | 24 | 2 | - | 122 | 293 |
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| 23/24 | 215 | 36 | 3 | - | 128 | 382 |
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| 24/25 | 205 | 28 | 13 | - | 116 | 362 |
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| Total | 1482 | 222 | 36 |
| 1079 | 2819 |
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This data comes with the following commentary:
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information her Department holds on the number of train cars that were in use by Northern in January 2025.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 1 January 2025, Northern had 954 carriages available for use.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the Maritime Labour Convention to (a) pay, (b) welfare standards and (c) safety within the UK shipping industry in the last ten years.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK takes seafarer safety and welfare seriously having implemented the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), 2006, in the UK since 2014. The UK takes an active role in the international Committee which keeps the MLC under review. The UK also undertakes and publishes regular post-implementation reviews of its own MLC implementing legislation. The Government is preparing to attend the Special Tripartite Committee at the International Labour Organization in April 2025 to negotiate further amendments to improve safety and welfare for seafarers.
The MLC sets standards on the frequency and composition of seafarer wages but not the level of pay. Within the International Labour Organization, the Subcommittee on Wages of Seafarers of the Joint Maritime Commission set the international minimum wage for seafarers.
A joint Tripartite Working Group allows UK shipowner and seafarer representatives to meet with the Government on a regular basis to report safety or welfare concerns that arise.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the recent report submitted to the International Maritime Organisation by the International Transport Workers Federation on cases of seafarer abandonment in the shipping industry.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The report was submitted for consideration at the 112th Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization. As with all papers submitted to the committee, we are currently reviewing in advance of the Committee in March.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the level of support provided to (a) Gibraltar and (b) other Red Ensign Group shipping registries for discharging Port State Control responsibilities, in the context of the Maritime Labour Convention.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There has been no discussion between the Secretary of State and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on level of support provided to Gibraltar and other Red Ensign Group ship registers for the discharging of Port State Control responsibilities in the context of the Maritime Labour Convention.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to consult maritime trade unions ahead of the fifth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention at the International Labour Organization in Geneva on 7-11 April.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department regularly engages with the maritime trade unions, including through meetings of the UK Tripartite Working Group on the Maritime Labour Convention.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which ferry operators have access to operate commercial services from UK ports under the International Ship and Port Facility Security Code.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There are ferry operators such as DFDS, Stena Line, Brittany Ferries, Irish Ferries, P&O Ferries, Condor Ferries and others operating commercial services from UK port facilities. The International Ship and Port Facility Security Code sets minimum standards for port and ship security which must be met by operators but does not itself grant access to operate commercial services. Decisions on commercial services are made by ports themselves.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when the Government delegation to the fifth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention at the International Labour Organization in Geneva on 7-11 April will be announced.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK Government delegation to the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention will be confirmed to the International Labour Organization in the usual way. We expect that the UK delegation will be led by DfT’s Head of Seafarers with additional support and technical expertise provided by officials from DfT and the MCA.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will have discussions with the Office of Rail and Road on the potential merits of increasing the number of northern services from (a) Seaham and (b) Horden train stations.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Rail North Partnership, on behalf of the Department and Transport for the North is currently examining a business case for the increase in services along the Durham Coast line to these two stations, with effect from the December 2025 timetable. The analysis must balance the economic and social benefits of this enhancement with the performance of existing services and the financial impact on taxpayer subsidy.