Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will make an estimate of the number of (a) company groups that have been entered into the Tonnage Tax scheme and (b) vessels entered into the scheme by those company groups in each year since 2000; and what flags of registration those companies flew.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department does not maintain cumulative records of all companies that have participated in the Tonnage Tax system, as there is no business requirement to do so. The training obligation is assessed annually. However, we can provide the most recent figures as of 1 October 2024.
Currently, there are 82 companies participating in the Tonnage Tax scheme, encompassing 870 ships, 331 of which are UK-flagged. Additionally, 35 companies are recorded as having exited the scheme.
Excluding the 331 ships registered in the UK, other ships in the scheme are registered under the following flags:
· Cyprus:6
· Denmark: 16
· Finland: 3
· Italy: 1
· Malta: 43
· Netherlands: 2
· Norway: 9
· Portugal: 6
· Spain: 1
· Antigua and Barbuda: 6
· Bahamas: 99
· Bermuda: 8
· Brazil: 3
· Cayman Islands: 1
· Gibraltar: 8
· Hong Kong: 16
· Isle of Man: 44
· Liberia: 161
· Madeira: 10
· Marshall Islands: 49
· Panama: 30
· St. Vincent: 1
· Singapore: 15
· USA: 1
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 14304 on Prisoners Escort, how her Department defines agreed court start times.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for managing the Prisoner Escort & Custody Service (PECS) contracts collects data relating to trial delays from several sources. HM Courts and Tribunal Service submits a Court Exceptions Report in respect of each instance of hearing delay; the contractors also self-report any delays; and the contract management team undertake further assurance work through site visits.
Court operating times were agreed with HM Courts and Tribunal Service as part of the procurement process for the PECS contracts and are set out in contract schedules. For each court day, the start time is determined by the judge, taking account of the scheduled operating time. The PECS contractor is required to produce the prisoner in advance of the start time decided by the judge, provided this is within the operating times set out in the contract.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 November 2024 to Question 14304 on Prisoners Escort, how her Department collects data on prisoner delays.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The team in HM Prison & Probation Service responsible for managing the Prisoner Escort & Custody Service (PECS) contracts collects data relating to trial delays from several sources. HM Courts and Tribunal Service submits a Court Exceptions Report in respect of each instance of hearing delay; the contractors also self-report any delays; and the contract management team undertake further assurance work through site visits.
Court operating times were agreed with HM Courts and Tribunal Service as part of the procurement process for the PECS contracts and are set out in contract schedules. For each court day, the start time is determined by the judge, taking account of the scheduled operating time. The PECS contractor is required to produce the prisoner in advance of the start time decided by the judge, provided this is within the operating times set out in the contract.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12397 on Prisoners Escort, how many penalties for late delivery of a prisoner to the Magistrates Court were issued in (a) 2024 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.
The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.
In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.
In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.
As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.
The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12397 on Prisoners Escort, how many penalties for late delivery of a prisoner to the Crown Court were issued in (a) 2024 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.
The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.
In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.
In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.
As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.
The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12397 on Prisoners Escort, what the average time for a late delivery of a prisoner is to (a) Crown Court and (b) Magistrates Court.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Delays attributable to prisoner escort supplier failure are calculated from the point at which court proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes. Penalties (known as service credits) are applicable for every subsequent 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, whereupon the supplier is penalised for a full 15 minutes.
The following information relates to application of service credits for late delivery of a prisoner to either the Crown Court or a magistrates’ court.
In 2023, out of 299,470 journeys to court undertaken by the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service, 484 instances of supplier failure resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers.
In 2024, up to 31 October, out of 274,606 journeys to court, there were 228 instances of supplier failure that resulted in service credits being paid by suppliers. 99.92% of all journeys arrive on time.
As delays are recorded in periods of 15 minutes, it is not possible to calculate a precise average length of delay.
The breakdown requested between the Crown Court and magistrates’ courts is not available, and the work needed to provide it could not be undertaken without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, how many offshore wind turbines were installed at locations within (a) UK territorial waters and (b) the UK Exclusive Economic Zone in each year between 2017 and 2023.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Crown Estate’s Offshore Wind Report 2023 states there were 2,776 operational offshore wind turbines in UK waters at the end of 2023.
The Department does not hold data on the number of installed turbines over time or whether they are located in UK Territorial Waters or the UK Exclusive Economic Zone, but does publish estimates of total installed generating capacity. These show that capacity grew by 7.8GW between 2017 and 2023.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 15 October 2024 to Question 7745 on Migrant Workers: Wind Power, if she will contact employers that utilised the concession to obtain data on the number of workers brought to work in UK waters between 2017 and 2023.
Answered by Seema Malhotra - Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Department for Education) (Equalities)
The offshore wind workers immigration rules concession ended on 30 April 2023. There are no plans to collect this data.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to increase investment in the children's mental health system to (a) reduce waiting times and (b) ensure that more (i) children and (ii) young people can access support.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
It is unacceptable that too many children and young people are not receiving the mental health care they need, and we know that waits for mental health services are far too long. That is why we will recruit 8,500 additional mental health workers across both adult and children and young people’s mental health services. We are discussing our future investment in children and young people’s mental health services.
The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to consider how to deliver our manifesto commitment of accessing a specialist mental health professional in every school. We need to ensure any support meets the needs of young people, teachers, parents, and carers. This includes considering the role of existing programmes of support with evidence of a positive impact, such as Mental Health Support Teams in schools and colleges.
Alongside this we are working toward rolling out Young Futures hubs in every community, offering open access mental health services for young people.
The Mental Health Bill currently before Parliament will deliver the Government’s commitment to modernise the Mental Health Act 1983, so that it is fit for the 21st century. The Bill will amend the Act, which applies to England and Wales, and give patients detained under the Act greater choice, autonomy, rights, and support.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the contractual penalties are for the late transfer of prisoners to court; and at what point the penalty starts if a prisoner is transferred late to court.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The contracts for the Prisoner Escort and Custody Service set out the penalties, referred to as “service credits”, applied to suppliers found culpable for late delivery of a prisoner to court, where this has the effect of delaying the hearing. The delay is calculated from the point at which proceedings are ready to commence, provided this is within the agreed court start times and the delay is greater than 15 minutes.
Service credits are calculated using a points system. After the first 15 minutes, five service points are applied in the Crown Court for each 15 minutes of delay, or part thereof, and in magistrates courts, three service points.
A single service point is currently set at £121.53. The penalty for each applicable 15-minute delay (or part thereof) in the Crown Court is therefore £607.65, and in magistrates’ courts £364.59.