Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to support customers affected by (a) cancellations and (b) safety concerns in the context of dismissals of employees by P&O Ferries.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
P&O Ferries customers are fully protected when a sailing is cancelled by regulation EU1177/2010 that has been adopted into UK law under the EU Exit Regulations of 2019. Refunds must be made within seven days. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) enforce these regulations within the UK. Other operators continue to sail across Channel routes, so passengers and goods are flowing.
The MCA surveyors continue to carry out port state control inspections on P&O Ferries vessels prior to them commencing passenger services. This is to ensure crew safety and training, and that all vessels’ safety requirements are met.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the dismissal of 800 workers by P&O and the detainment of ships operated by that company for inspection, what steps his Department will take to ensure safety standards for passengers are upheld on ferry services operated by P&O.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency plan to carry out Port State Control inspections on all the P&O ferries affected prior to them returning to passenger service, to ensure that they remain in compliance with all international requirements.
MCA Officials have completed inspections on the EUROPEAN CAUSEWAY, EUROPEAN HIGHLANDER, PRIDE OF HULL, PRIDE OF KENT, PRIDE OF ROTTERDAM, NORBAY and NORBANK. The PRIDE OF CANTERBURY and SPIRIT OF FRANCE will be inspected by the MCA before they go back into service.
These inspections involve thorough checks of items such as hull, machinery, firefighting and lifesaving arrangements, maintenance and emergency preparedness to ensure that the ferries and its operation meet the requisite safety standards. If the MCA find serious defects, then they will detain the vessel until those matters have been resolved, as illustrated by recent detentions.
All roll-on-roll-off passenger ferries including those operated by P&O are, and will continue to be, inspected annually by the MCA.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of long distance high speed train services in Great Britain are delivered by open access operators; and if he will publish the proportion of operator capacity currently in use for each of those operators.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
On 8 March 2022, open access operated 4 per cent of long distance high speed services nationally. The Department does not keep records of the amount of capacity provided by open access operators; details of open access services are published in the National Rail timetable and on the operators’ own websites.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of long distance high speed train services on the East Coast Main Line are delivered by open access operators as of 8 March 2022; and if he will publish details of (a) those services and (b) their capacity as a proportion of total capacity on the East Coast Main Line.
Answered by Wendy Morton
On 8 March 2022, open access operators operated 20 per cent of all long distance high speed services from London to the north of England and Scotland using the East Coast Mainline. The Department does not keep records of the amount of capacity provided by open access operators; details of open access services are published in the National Rail timetable and on the operators’ own websites.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what surplus land owned by the railway estate has his Department identified as suitable for sale and development; and what steps he is taking to expedite that process.
Answered by Wendy Morton
DfT and its delivery bodies remain committed to identifying and disposing land for housing and to support other government objectives. DfT’s Arms-Length Bodies that have sizeable estates have professional surveyors who oversee and facilitate the disposals.
Network Rail disposed of land for over 9,000 homes as part of the Public Sector Land Programme between April 2015 and March 2020. Since the completion of that programme, they have continued to identify surplus land and maintain a disposals pipeline. Between April 2020 to January 2022, Network Rail have disposed land for a further 1180 homes.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether long distance high speed passenger rolling stock has been displaced as a result of (a) the Intercity Express Programme and (b) steps taken to encourage more services and competition for passengers across the long distance railway passenger market.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The rolling stock that was replaced by operators as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) is privately owned by a number of rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs) and was returned to them by operators when the new IEP trains were introduced. It is a matter for the ROSCOs and any future operator to determine the ability of such rolling stock to deliver potential future services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans he has to encourage new and existing open access rail services to examine the future potential use of long distance high speed passenger rolling stock which has been displaced as a result of the Intercity Express Programme.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The rolling stock that was replaced by operators as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) is privately owned by a number of rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs) and was returned to them by operators when the new IEP trains were introduced. It is a matter for the ROSCOs and any future operator to determine the ability of such rolling stock to deliver potential future services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which Intercity 225 fleets and other high speed passenger rolling stock fleets have been displaced as a result of the Intercity Express Programme; and which of those fleets are available for continued and future use.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The rolling stock that was replaced by operators as part of the Intercity Express Programme (IEP) is privately owned by a number of rolling stock owning companies (ROSCOs) and was returned to them by operators when the new IEP trains were introduced. It is a matter for the ROSCOs and any future operator to determine the ability of such rolling stock to deliver potential future services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what financial support his Department has provided to the railways sector for the continuance of rail services since the beginning of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Wendy Morton
From the start of the pandemic to the end of this financial year, Government has committed to more than £14bn of funding for passenger services.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Shaw report published in 2016, what plans his Department has to deliver more competitive tendering for the supply of rail maintenance and infrastructure support by Network Rail; and if he will publish details of those plans.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Department for Transport (DfT) aims to drive value for money in the delivery of all services procured by the department. Guidance is provided to our commercial teams, Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs), and Executive Agencies so that the legislative framework that we operate in is adhered to, and wider government policies such as the Construction and Sourcing Playbooks are embedded in all procurement activity. The Playbooks set out best practice guidance for contracting organisations to promote efficiency in the procurement process.
As an ALB within the DfT Group, Network Rail is responsible for translating this legislation and guidance into individual tendering processes, that will be specific to the individual projects and contracts that support their operations. As individual business cases would be commercially sensitive to Network Rail and its suppliers, it would not be appropriate to publish these specific plans.
DfT are committed to embedding the principles of the Construction Playbook and increasing the efficiency of procurement to drive value for money across the DfT Group.
This supports the Department’s strategic priorities, which are published and in the public domain.