Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with HM Treasury on potential fiscal steps to support the road haulage industry with increases in its costs.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport works with industry stakeholders and across government to address matters impacting the viability of our vital road freight sector. This includes the ministerially chaired Freight Council which brings together senior logistics sector representatives and government officials to consider strategic issues facing the multimodal freight sector, in addition to overseeing delivery of the long-term Future of Freight Plan.
Issues relating to fiscal policy, and its impact on the wider economy, remain a matter for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Like all taxes, the government keeps HGV Vehicle Excise Duty and the HGV Levy under review.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing (a) social tariffs and (b) other forms of financial support for (i) public transport and (ii) car insurance.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Government is taking action to ensure that public transport is affordable for people across the country. We have made significant investments in public transport to help make services more frequent, more reliable, cheaper and easier to use.
In January 2023, the Department introduced the £2 cap on single bus fares in England outside of London, which has been extended until the end of 2024. The increase to most regulated rail fares will be capped at 4.9% instead of the July 2023 RPI figure (9%) which has historically been used to calculate fares changes. This is set to come into effect on 3 March 2024, so passengers benefit from cheaper fares for longer. A range of railcards is also available which offers discounts to particular groups.
My officials regularly liaise with representatives of the motor insurance industry on a range of issues. However, it is the responsibility of individual motor insurers to set their premiums and the terms and conditions of their policies, and the Government does not intervene in, or seek to control, the market.
The Department also undertakes research to help inform our policy making and gives due consideration to the travel needs, behaviours and experiences of different groups.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 February 2024 to Question 13142 on Fishing Vessels: Surveillance, what the cost of flights were for DWF lawyers in 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
There has been no cost for flights for DWF lawyers in 2023.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 12084 on Fishing Vessels: Safety, what the total legal costs incurred by his Department were for (a) investigations of suspected non-use of personal floatation devices and (b) any other purpose by legal firm DWF in each of the last five years.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) incurred the following legal expenditure with DWF over the last 5 years:
a) Legal costs in issuing notices related to breach of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Personal Protective Equipment) Regulations 1999 - £31,104 in 2023. Nil return for information related to prior years.
b) Total legal spend with DWF (inclusive of spend detailed in part a) over the last 5 years is detailed below:
Year | Payment |
2018 | £9,701 |
2019 | £10,849 |
2020 | £15,079 |
2021 | £13,501 |
2022 | £472,869 |
2023 | £1,382,895 |
The change in total spend profile with this legal services provider reflects the fact that the MCA has reduced its suppliers to consolidate and reduce overall costs by utilising the framework for procurement of legal services.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2024 to Question 12083 on Fishing Vessels: Surveillance, what the cost was of aviation undertaken by (a) Maritime and Coastguard Agency and (b) DWF lawyers (i) in the preparation of these cases and (ii) for other associated reasons in 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Flights operate to support all areas of MCA business including Search and Rescue, counter pollution, and law enforcement/assurance, and the purpose of these flights is not exclusive to the PPE regulations. It is therefore not possible to provide a breakdown specifically related to this issue. DWF lawyers do not undertake flights for these purposes.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much the Maritime and Coastguard Agency spent on (a) flights, (b) legal action and (c) staff in relation to the monitoring of fishing vessels for compliance with regulations on the wearing of personal flotation devices in 2023.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In 2023, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) incurred £31,104 in legal costs associated with issuing notices relating to breaches of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Personal Protective Equipment) Regulation 1999. This is in addition to estimated staff costs in the range of £5,000 to £10,000. Flights support all areas of MCA operations, including search and rescue, counter-pollution, and law enforcement/assurance. As such, it is not possible to provide a specific cost breakdown for flight operations.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will set out his Department's strategy on sustainable aviation fuel.
Answered by Anthony Browne - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK government’s SAF programme has three key pillars. We are driving demand for SAF through a new mandate which will be introduced in 2025, requiring at least 10% of jet fuel to be from sustainable sources by 2030. We are kick starting a domestic SAF industry and have allocated over £135m for UK SAF production facilities through the Advanced Fuels Fund. We are working with industry and investors to build a long term UK SAF supply and have committed to design and implement a revenue certainty mechanism to support a UK SAF industry.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what legal costs were incurred by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency for prosecutions relating to the non-wearing of personal flotation devices in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
In the past 12 months the Maritime and Coastguard Agency have not prosecuted any individuals or organisations for the non-wearing of personal flotation devices and have not incurred any related legal costs.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many notices were issued to fishing vessel owners following the flights conducted by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in 2023; and what the (a) nature and (b) outcome was of each notice.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) issued 110 notices in 2023 related to breach of the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (Personal Protective Equipment) regulation 1999. Out of the 110 notices; 57 resulted in the MCA issuing non-criminal cautions to persons admitting breaching regulations, 15 concluded with no further action taken and 38 are still being investigated.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will publish data held by his Department on the ownership and flag status of ships transporting (a) Forties Pipeline oil and (b) UK North Sea oil generally for refining overseas.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department for Transport does not hold data on ships transporting Forties Pipeline oil and UK North Sea oil generally for refining overseas.