Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to prepare for the enforcement of the Seafarers Wages Act 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023 received Royal Assent in March 2023. There are offences under the Act for operators providing a false and misleading declaration, operating a service inconsistently with a declaration, harbour authorities not complying with their duties under the Act, and for harbour authorities and operators who do not provide information when requested under the Act. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency will be responsible for enforcement of these offences and has powers of inspection under the Act to allow them to investigate.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Transport on the potential merits of establishing minimum wage corridors for seafarers working on ships between the UK and France.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The department works closely with the Department for Transport at official level on topics surrounding seafarers’ wages. In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions are not normally disclosed.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Whether he has had recent discussions with (a) P&O Ferries and (b) other members of the UK Chamber of Shipping on the Seafarers’ Charter.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Secretary of State has not had recent discussions with P&O Ferries or other members of the UK Chamber of Shipping on the Seafarers’ Charter. However, officials regularly engage with operators who have committed to the Seafarers’ Charter, as well as other members of the UK Chamber of Shipping. Officials only engage with P&O Ferries regarding operational matters, such as safety and security.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what resources the Insolvency Service has committed to its civil investigation of P&O Ferries; and what steps her Department is taking to monitor the investigation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Insolvency Service’s civil investigation into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries remains ongoing. As such, it would not be appropriate to comment on the detail of the investigation.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to page 14 of the Government response to the Consultation on the Statutory Code of Practice on Dismissal and Re-engagement, published on 19th February 2024, whether seafarers will be eligible for the protective award for non-compliance with collective consultation requirements.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The rights of seafarers under employment law depend in part on whether they fall within the jurisdiction of the UK (or Great Britain). Ultimately this will be determined by the courts and tribunals.
Whether seafarers have the right to collective consultation about proposed redundancies under section 188 and the following sections of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 ("the 1992 Act") is likely to depend on whether the establishment where they work has sufficient connection with Great Britain. This position is not affected by government plans to add the protective award to Schedule A2 of the 1992 Act.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has received representations on the Insolvency Service’s procedure for investigating (a) criminal and (b) civil offences by UK registered companies owned by overseas entities.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Trade
The Department is making enquires to determine whether such representations in respect of the Insolvency Service's procedures have been received. Any representations will be responded to as is appropriate.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of (a) ratings and (b) cadets that will be trained on Tonnage Tax qualifying vessels in 2023-24.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department for Transport does not collect this information.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme on the (a) recording and (b) pricing of emissions from (i) cargo and (ii) passenger ships registered on the UK Ship Register.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to domestic maritime is currently planned from 2026. Officials across the UK ETS Authority have been regularly engaging across the maritime sector ahead of the next consultation on expansion of the UK ETS to domestic maritime. My officials met with industry bodies as recently as three weeks ago, and will continue to do so both ahead of, and following, the publication of the next consultation on the expansion of the UK ETS.
The EU ETS meanwhile will apply to all cargo and passenger vessels over 5000GT operating within the European Economic Area (EEA) and internationally to the EEA from 1 Jan 2024.
We have no plans to make a full assessment of this EU ETS scheme, it will impact all nations going to the EEA equally. The amount of in-scope emissions that allowances must be surrendered will increase from 40% in 2024, increasing to 70% in 2025, and 100% in 2026. The EU ETS will initially cover carbon dioxide emissions and be widened to include methane and nitrous oxide from 2026.
We will continue to monitor developments of international and regional carbon pricing instruments covering shipping schemes, including the EU ETS proposal, and consider how these might interact with our domestic policy in the future. This will be applied equally to all operators travelling internationally to the EEA. The EU ETS is not expected to have any organizational impact on the MCA.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last met representatives of the shipping industry to discuss the operation of Emissions Trading Schemes in the maritime sector.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to domestic maritime is currently planned from 2026. Officials across the UK ETS Authority have been regularly engaging across the maritime sector ahead of the next consultation on expansion of the UK ETS to domestic maritime. My officials met with industry bodies as recently as three weeks ago, and will continue to do so both ahead of, and following, the publication of the next consultation on the expansion of the UK ETS.
The EU ETS meanwhile will apply to all cargo and passenger vessels over 5000GT operating within the European Economic Area (EEA) and internationally to the EEA from 1 Jan 2024.
We have no plans to make a full assessment of this EU ETS scheme, it will impact all nations going to the EEA equally. The amount of in-scope emissions that allowances must be surrendered will increase from 40% in 2024, increasing to 70% in 2025, and 100% in 2026. The EU ETS will initially cover carbon dioxide emissions and be widened to include methane and nitrous oxide from 2026.
We will continue to monitor developments of international and regional carbon pricing instruments covering shipping schemes, including the EU ETS proposal, and consider how these might interact with our domestic policy in the future. This will be applied equally to all operators travelling internationally to the EEA. The EU ETS is not expected to have any organizational impact on the MCA.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What recent assessment he has made of the financial impact of the introduction of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme from 1 January 2024 on operators of (a) cargo and (b) passenger ships over 5,000 gross tonnage on routes between UK ports and ports in (i) the Netherlands, (ii) Belgium, (iii) France, (iv) Spain, (v) Denmark, (vi) Germany and (vii) other EU member states.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to domestic maritime is currently planned from 2026. Officials across the UK ETS Authority have been regularly engaging across the maritime sector ahead of the next consultation on expansion of the UK ETS to domestic maritime. My officials met with industry bodies as recently as three weeks ago, and will continue to do so both ahead of, and following, the publication of the next consultation on the expansion of the UK ETS.
The EU ETS meanwhile will apply to all cargo and passenger vessels over 5000GT operating within the European Economic Area (EEA) and internationally to the EEA from 1 Jan 2024.
We have no plans to make a full assessment of this EU ETS scheme, it will impact all nations going to the EEA equally. The amount of in-scope emissions that allowances must be surrendered will increase from 40% in 2024, increasing to 70% in 2025, and 100% in 2026. The EU ETS will initially cover carbon dioxide emissions and be widened to include methane and nitrous oxide from 2026.
We will continue to monitor developments of international and regional carbon pricing instruments covering shipping schemes, including the EU ETS proposal, and consider how these might interact with our domestic policy in the future. This will be applied equally to all operators travelling internationally to the EEA. The EU ETS is not expected to have any organizational impact on the MCA.