Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the impact that changes in the national (a) living and (b) minimum wage commencing on 1 April 2024 will have on staffing costs in his Department; and how many staff in his Department will receive a pay uplift as a result of those changes.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 1 April 2024 the statutory National Living Wage (NLW) will be uplifted from £10.42 to £11.44 per hour, a rise of 9.8%. DWP pay NLW regardless of age.
Based on January headcount data 22,267 DWP employees will be impacted by the 2024 increase to the NLW and will require a pay uplift to meet the new NLW rate. This is estimated to cost the department £22.59m including Employer National Insurance and Pension contributions this year.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on what dates the Maritime and Coastguard Agency carried out port state control inspections of the (a) P&O Pioneer and (b) P&O Liberte ferries in Dover under the Merchant Shipping (Inspections of Ro-Ro Passenger Ships and High-Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The P&O PIONEER was last inspected under the EU Directive, 2017/2110 on “A system of Inspections for the safe operations of ro-ro passenger ships and high-speed craft in regular service” by the French on 17 November 2023 in the port of Calais. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) carried out general inspections on board on 2 and 9 June 2023 in the ports of Dunkerque and Dover respectively.
The P&O LIBERTE was last inspected under the EU Directive, 2017/2110 on “A system of Inspections for the safe operations of ro-ro passenger ships and high-speed craft in regular service” by the French on 11 March 2024 in the port of Calais. The MCA carried out a port state control inspection on board on 7 March 2024 in the port of Dover.
The Merchant Shipping (Inspections of Ro-Ro Passenger Ships and High-Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2023 do not apply to these vessels as they operate to an EU member state. As set out in Regulation 2(a), a regular service is defined as a service between a port in the United Kingdom and a port of a country other than an EU member state. The Merchant Shipping (Inspections of Ro-Ro Passenger Ships and High-Speed Passenger Craft) Regulations 2023 apply to all ro-ro passenger ferries or high-speed passenger craft, which operate a regular service to or from a port in the United Kingdom either on an international voyage to a non-EU port or to another UK port in sea areas designated Class A in accordance with the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ships on Domestic Voyages) Regulations 2000. Inspections of foreign flagged ro-ro passenger ferries or high-speed passenger craft on a regular service between the UK and a port in the European Union will be carried out under the Port State Control regime in accordance with Merchant Shipping (Port State Control) Regulations 2011.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to ensure that crew employment conditions on the (a) P&O Pioneer and (b) P&O Liberte ferries are compliant with the (i) ILO Maritime Labour Convention and (ii) Seafarers’ Charter.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The P&O PIONEER and P&O LIBERTE operate between the ports of Dover and Calais. These ships are subject to inspections both under the EU Directive, 2017/2110 on “A system of Inspections for the safe operations of ro-ro passenger ships and high-speed craft in regular service” and the Paris MoU port state control regime by the French and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
They are subject to two inspections under the EU directive and one port state control inspection every year. All of these inspections include verification of compliance with elements of the Maritime Labour Convention, for example: seafarer employment agreements; wages; accommodation; food and catering; leave; medical care; welfare; and health protection. Whenever surveyors from the MCA are on board these vessels, these items form part of their inspections.
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 31 January 2024 to Question 11055 on Railway Signals: Cambridge, what his Department's timeframe is for the development of a business case for the re-signalling of Ely Junction.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The recently announced Network North programme of investment included confirmation of government’s support for the Ely Area Capacity Enhancement (EACE) programme and the substantial benefits this will bring, including a doubling of passenger services on the Ely to Kings Lynn and Ipswich to Peterborough routes together with additional freight paths into the Port of Felixstowe.
Network Rail have developed the scheme to Outline Business Case stage; next steps will involve further investment case development and delivery planning.
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 31 January 2024 to Question 11059 on Railways: Finance, how much was spent on rail enhancements in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021, (d) 2022 and (e) 2023.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Rail enhancements are delivered through the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline, which has spent the following in each year in CP6 (including contributions to 3rd party schemes), from 2019 (figures shown in £m, nominal):
a) 2019/20: £1,475m
b) 2020/21: £1,477m
c) 2021/22: £1,685m
d) 2022/23: £1,840m
e) 2023/24: £2,156*
* (outturn data for 2023/24 is provisional and is subject to change)
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of his Department's policy on the use of foodbank signposting slips at Jobcentres on vulnerable households.
Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
On 19 February we introduced a new food charity signposting slip to replace the one previously used.
This does not change DWP signposting policy but improves the signposting slip to comply with our obligations under GDPR.
Our Jobcentres continue to provide customers with guidance to find additional support, including signposting to emergency food support when appropriate.
The new slip does not include any personal data. It also now provides claimants with information on where they might access emergency food locally, and wider sources of support.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what (a) reporting mechanisms and (b) governance structures are in place to oversee spending on the Transpennine Route Upgrade project.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
TRU is overseen by a Programme Board comprising senior DfT, Network Rail, Train Operating Companies and freight industry members, it also includes independent non-Executives and an Independent Chair to ensure robust challenge. The DfT's Senior Responsible Owner retains overall accountability for successful delivery of the project.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 12789 on Offences against Children, what steps is he taking to incorporate paragraph 35 of General Comment 26 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to allow the (a) police and (b) other public authorities to investigate child welfare and safeguarding when an individual is suspected of a violent animal welfare offence.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
We believe our existing domestic legislation gives effect to the rights within the UNCRC, without the need for it to be incorporated through an additional Bill. For example, the Children Act 1989 and Children Act 2004 sets out a range of duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Government response to the Fifth Report of the Transport Committee of Session 2022–23 on Maritime 2050: objectives, implementation and effects, published on 24 May 2023, what progress he has made on negotiations with the Spanish Government on practices concerning conditions for seafarers on board third country flagged ships operating regular shipping routes between ports in Spain and the UK.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
On 7 July 2023, the UK and Spain signed a Memorandum of Understanding on conditions for seafarers aboard third-country flagged vessels in which we agreed to examine how we could cooperate and consider the impact of existing and new measures.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many Irish Sea ferry services operators have signed the Seafarers Charter; and what progress his Department has made on reaching a bilateral agreement with the Irish Government on seafarer welfare standards on ferry services operating between the UK and Ireland.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Stena Line has committed to the Seafarers’ Charter. My Department has regular discussions with the Irish Government about co-operation on seafarer welfare.