Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when Network Rail plans to announce the preferred bidder for Project Reach.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Subject to the Project Reach business case going through DfT approval, Network Rail plans to announce the parties involved in any contract signature.
Neos Networks has, however, separately made an announcement on their website stating they are in exclusive talks with Network Rail.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an assessment of the value for money of Network Rail’s signalling framework contracts.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Network Rail is responsible for the frameworks governing train signalling systems. In April 2024, Network Rail announced a £4bn, 10-year signalling framework - the Train Control Systems Framework (TCSF). The framework runs from 2024 until 2034 of which £3bn will be spent on digital signalling (ETCS) and £1bn on conventional signalling. The framework is one of the remedies published by Network Rail in response to the market study conducted by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) to provide value for money through cost, quality and innovation.
ORR holds Network Rail to account for the delivery of its operations, support, maintenance, and renewals programmes. As the Digital Signalling Portfolio is included in the ORR’s final determination of Network Rail’s renewals funding, ORR will carry out monitoring of this portfolio of works during Control Period 7 (CP7).
More details about the frameworks can be found on the Network Rail website.
Network Rail’s £4bn train control systems framework to revolutionise signalling across Britain.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of the amount spent by her Department on rail enhancements in each year of control period (a) five, (b) six and (c) seven.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Rail enhancements in England and Wales have been delivered through the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline since Control Period six (CP6), prior to that they were delivered directly through Network Rail. The following has been spent on enhancements in each financial year in Control Periods five (CP5) and CP6. Figures for Control Period seven are not yet available as no years have yet concluded. All figures are presented in £millions nominal and exclude third party contributions.
CP5 year 1 – 2014/15: £2,597
CP5 year 2 – 2015/16: £2,950
CP5 year 3 – 2016/17: £3,123
CP5 year 4 – 2017/18: £2,951
CP5 year 5 – 2018/19: £2,680
CP6 year 1 – 2019/20: £1,620
CP6 year 2 – 2020/21: £1,459
CP6 year 3 – 2021/22: £1,626
CP6 year 4 – 2022/23: £1,832
CP6 year 5 – 2023/24: £2,112
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many officials in her Department are employed to oversee the work of (a) Shadow GBR (b) HS2 Ltd and (c) train operating companies.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Shadow GBR consists of the three leaders of Network Rail, DfT Operator Limited (DfTO), and the Department for Transport’s Rail Services Group working together with the Chair, Laura Shoaf CBE. At present seven officials in the Department are employed to mobilise these arrangements (with some working on SGBR alongside other priorities).
As at January 2025, there are approximately 175 officials in DfT's Major Rail Projects Group, which has responsibility for developing and sponsoring the delivery of HS2, the Euston programme, Northern Powerhouse Rail and future network planning. Within the Department’s markets teams there are 113 officials overseeing the rail franchise contracts.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate she has made of Network Rail’s increased in national insurance contributions.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Before the National Insurance increase announcement in the budget, Network Rail’s estimated National Insurance payment was £1.26bn for the remaining four years of Control Period 7 (2025/26 – 2028/29). Following the budget, it’s now anticipated to increase by £213m over this timeframe.
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 adequacy of (a) debt levels and (b) regulated asset base gearing by UK airports.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK aviation sector operates predominantly within the private market, and decisions regarding asset financing are at the discretion of individual airports and their owners.
Heathrow Airport is unique amongst UK airports in maintaining an active Regulatory Asset Base as part of its economic regulation by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Since this regulation is independent from Government, the Department does not conduct routine analysis of debt and gearing levels in relation to Heathrow.
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 enforcement of the Seafarers Wages Act 2023.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials from the Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have regular meetings to discuss enforcement of the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023. Department for Transport officials held a training session for Maritime and Coastguard Agency inspectors on the requirements of the legislation in November 2024.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s annual budget was in each year between 2018-19 and 2024-25.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The MCA’s annual budget each year from 2018/19 – 2024/25 as follows:
| Source | Resource Budget | Capital Budget | Total Budget |
2024-2025 | Parliamentary Main Supply Estimate | 443,735 | 21,842 | 465,577 |
2023-2024 | Parliamentary Supply Estimate | 416,594 | 39,479 | 456,073 |
2022-2023 | Parliamentary Supply Estimate | 416,168 | 38,401 | 454,569 |
2021-2022 | Parliamentary Supply Estimate | 389,891 | 61,184 | 451,075 |
2020-2021 | Parliamentary Supply Estimate | 376,693 | 43,171 | 419,864 |
2019-2020 | Parliamentary Supply Estimate | 365,273 | 16,327 | 381,600 |
2018-2019 | Parliamentary Supply Estimate | 349,055 | 11,866 | 360,921 |
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects the Marine Accident Investigation Branch to publish its report into the loss of a crew member on the Liberian flagged drill rig jack up vessel Valaris 121 on 22 January 2023.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Liberian registered Valaris 121, a mobile drilling rig, was under tow outside United Kingdom territorial waters when the accident took place. In line with the International Maritime Organization’s Casualty Investigation Code (the Code), as the flag State of the vessel, the Liberian Registry’s Marine Investigations Department has commenced an investigation.
As this accident involved a UK national, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch has declared itself a substantially interested state under the Code and has provided assistance to the Liberian investigation where required. Once their investigation is complete the Liberian authorities will publish a report into the accident.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question12278 on Rolling Stock, whether a rolling stock strategy will be published before the establishment of Great British Railways.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport is developing a Rolling Stock Strategy. This will align with the wider objectives of the industry in ending the current variability in production rates and ensuring a stable pipeline of work for the rolling stock supply chain.
Once established, Great British Railways will take the strategy forward providing a long-term approach to future rolling stock needs and helping to secure better value from the private rolling stock market.