Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the status is of each ship in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary fleet.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The information requested is as follows and is accurate as of 12 February 2024. ‘Available’ is defined as ships not undergoing deep maintenance or preparing to undergo deep maintenance.
Class | Not Available | Available | Total |
RFA Tide Class Tanker | 2 | 2 | 4 |
RFA Wave Class Tanker | 2 | 0 | 2 |
RFA Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliary) | 0 | 3 | 3 |
RFA Primary Casualty Reception Facility | 0 | 1 | 1 |
RFA Auxiliary Oiler Replenishment | 1 | 0 | 1 |
RFA Offshore Support Vessel | 1 | 1 | 2 |
The normal operating cycle of every ship involves them entering different readiness levels depending on their programmes, periods of refit and Departmental planning requirements. To maintain operational security, these figures cannot be broken down into any further level of detail, however, I can confirm that these figures do include the new RFA Offshore Support Vessel class.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Answered by James Heappey
Due to the ongoing nature of Operation Prosperity Guardian and for reasons of operational security it would be inappropriate to release detailed costings at this time.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of replacing HMS Diamond with HMS Richmond in the Red Sea on the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s capacity.
Answered by James Heappey
HMS Richmond has now taken on the role of safeguarding shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden alongside other Royal Navy, UK & NATO Partners, as part of the UK's enduring commitment to ensuring Freedom of Navigation and maintaining security of global shipping lanes.
The Royal Navy and Royal Feet Auxiliary continue to meet all of their operational commitments at home and abroad, and we will continue to ensure we have the workforce, support arrangements and facilities required to maintain availability in the future.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many civilian seafarer ratings have been trained by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in each year since 2016.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Between 2016 and 2023, 706 seafarers were trained by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), and there are no RFA seafarers currently serving on Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Fleet Auxiliary seafarers have been deployed in Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
Between 2016 and 2023, 706 seafarers were trained by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), and there are no RFA seafarers currently serving on Operation Prosperity Guardian.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of employment rights of seafarers in the (a) Royal Navy and (b) Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Answered by Andrew Murrison
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) strives to protect and support all of its seafarers. The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) team of 1,700 are employed and administered in accordance with MOD Civil Service parameters, regularly expertly reviewed and subject to independent scrutiny. In addition, the RFA are proactively modernising their suite of policies to exceed the standards of the new Seafarer's Charter.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to invite representations from young people to help input their experiences into future transport policy.
Answered by Anthony Browne
The Department is committed to ensuring that it meets the obligations set out in the Public Sector Equality Duty and give due consideration to the needs of groups with protected characteristics when developing policies and programmes. As part of this we are seeking to build our evidence base on the travel needs, behaviours and experiences of different groups, including those of different age cohorts.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of increases in the cost of transport on the levels of (a) unemployment and (b) productivity among 16-24 year olds.
Answered by Huw Merriman
All children under 16 receive 50 per cent off all adult rail fares, and in 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver railcard, extending this to 16- and 17-year-olds, meaning that a 50 per cent discount is available to children throughout their period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, including mature students over the age of 25 studying full-time, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. We have also introduced the 26-30 Railcard, extending the 34 per cent discount to more young adults.
In England, the majority of bus services outside London operate on a commercial basis, and decisions about offering reduced or discounted fares for commercial bus services are predominantly for operators to take. Many bus operators currently offer discounted fares for younger people. Our most recent set of statistics shows by the end of March 2023, at least 20 travel concession authorities themselves and at least one commercial bus operator in 71 out of the 84 travel concession authority areas in England, outside London, offered some form of discounted travel for young people.
The Government introduced a £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024 to help passengers save on their regular travel costs. The Government has provided almost £600 million to support the scheme.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the (a) economic and (b) social impact of increases in the cost of transport on young people.
Answered by Huw Merriman
All children under 16 receive 50 per cent off all adult rail fares, and in 2019 we introduced the 16-17 Saver railcard, extending this to 16- and 17-year-olds, meaning that a 50 per cent discount is available to children throughout their period of compulsory education and training. For students aged 18 and above, including mature students over the age of 25 studying full-time, the 16-25 Railcard offers a third off most rail travel. We have also introduced the 26-30 Railcard, extending the 34 per cent discount to more young adults.
In England, the majority of bus services outside London operate on a commercial basis, and decisions about offering reduced or discounted fares for commercial bus services are predominantly for operators to take. Many bus operators currently offer discounted fares for younger people. Our most recent set of statistics shows by the end of March 2023, at least 20 travel concession authorities themselves and at least one commercial bus operator in 71 out of the 84 travel concession authority areas in England, outside London, offered some form of discounted travel for young people.
The Government introduced a £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside London from 1 January 2023 until the end of 2024 to help passengers save on their regular travel costs. The Government has provided almost £600 million to support the scheme.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to tackle pavement parking in Gateshead constituency.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department is fully aware that pavement parking can pose problems for pedestrians, particularly for people with sight or mobility impairments. Local authorities already have powers to restrict pavement parking, but the Department has consulted on additional measures to help councils tackle this problem. The Department has not had recent discussions with Gateshead Council, but the consultation was open to all local authorities.