Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to increase (a) seafarer jobs and (b) freight volumes on domestic short sea shipping routes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Domestic shipping routes are an important part of the UK maritime sector and wider economy. Such routes accounted for 71.2 million tonnes of freight moved in 2024. Moving freight in this way can be environmentally beneficial and improve inland transport efficiency. We support the shift towards greater use of waterborne freight, and Government intends to undertake a comprehensive review of the potential for waterborne freight and the barriers that currently constrain its growth.
Shipping is a commercial market, and demand for shipping goods stems from wider economic demand, but it is important the sector can respond to those opportunities. Government continually considers the UK offer to attract shipping businesses to base themselves, and operate in, the UK market. Recent improvements to Tonnage Tax for shipping operators have proved successful.
The Department also remains committed to increasing the number of seafaring jobs in the UK. The apprenticeship levy is available for use in the maritime industry, including for ratings apprenticeships, and the Department and MCA continues to fund 50% of a cadetship through the £18m Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) fund.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with representatives from the maritime ports sector on modal shift of freight from road to domestic short sea shipping routes.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Departmental officials have discussed the case for promoting greater use of coastal and other domestic short-sea shipping routes with the British Ports Association and with the UK Major Ports Group on several recent occasions. The Government remains committed to incentivising modal shift.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when she expects to launch (a) Round 7 of the Clean Maritime Demonstration Competition (CMDC7) and (b) round 2 of the Zero Emission Vessels and Infrastructure competition (ZEVI2); and how much public funding will be allocated from the UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) budget for (i) CMDC7 and (ii) ZEVI2.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We intend to launch the CMDC7 and ZEVI2 competitions in Spring 2026. The budgets will be announced when the competitions launch and will be funded from the recently announced UK SHORE £448m budget for the 2026 – 2030 financial period.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to encourage (a) provision and (b) take up of seafarer apprenticeships in the North West.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
An industry round-table, chaired by the then Maritime Minister, was held in Blackpool in May 2025. The round-table brought key stakeholders from across the maritime industry together to discuss the promotion of maritime careers in the North West. The Department is engaging with Skills England and the Department for Work and Pensions on the provision of maritime apprenticeships and will continue to advocate for growing maritime careers and apprenticeships with employers in the North West.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information she holds on the recent progress of the International Green Corridor Fund feasibility studies to decarbonise merchant shipping routes between (a) the ports of Holyhead and Dublin and (b) the ports of Tyne and Ijmuiden.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Green Corridors have the potential to be effective mechanisms to deliver first mover activity and accelerate the decarbonisation of the maritime sector globally, as demonstrated in the published findings of the International Green Corridor Fund. These bilaterally-funded studies, with Ireland and the Netherlands, demonstrated the economic feasibility of industry delivering Green Corridors on these routes. The Government is focussed on delivering change through the policies set out in the Maritime Decarbonisation Strategy alongside international action at the International Maritime Organization (IMO). This will support industry to deliver Green Corridors and widespread decarbonisation of the maritime sector.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, if he will publish the assessment criteria the Department uses to determine whether the supplier of externally-contracted services has been responsible for a critical performance failure in delivering its contractual commitments.
Answered by Chris Ward - Parliamentary Secretary (Cabinet Office)
The Cabinet Office does not utilise a single, universal set of assessment criteria for determining whether a supplier is responsible for a critical performance failure. Instead, specific criteria are defined within each individual contract, generally aligning with the standard definitions in the Model Services Contract.
The Cabinet Office remains committed to promoting high standards of supplier performance and compliance with all relevant procurement legislation.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of using funds raised by the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to include maritime to support maritime decarbonisation projects.
Answered by Chris McDonald - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government recognises that decarbonising the maritime sector requires a suite of policies and is providing funding and policy support to facilitate this transition.
For example, between April 2022 and March 2026, the Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions programme has allocated £240m to the research and development of clean maritime solutions.
In September 2025, the Government announced a further £448m R&D funding for the programme for the period to 2030. This represents the biggest government investment ever in our commercial maritime industry.
Receipts from the UK Emissions Trading Scheme support the Government’s wider priorities, including spending that helps deliver decarbonisation.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of expanding the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to maritime on (a) the international competitiveness of the UK’s cruise sector, (b) Liverpool Cruise Port and (c) other British ports.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The domestic expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will only include emissions from international voyages, including cruises, produced while at berth in UK ports. This means there is no net loss of competitiveness for international cruise visits to UK ports relative to ports in the European Economic Area (EEA), where these emissions are already in scope of the EU ETS. As such, the impact is expected to be minimal. This is also the case for UK ports in general, and whilst the specific impacts on Liverpool Cruise Port have not been assessed, the impact on UK ports is not expected to be significant, as neighbouring competing ports in the EEA face equivalent regulations under the EU ETS.
In September 2025, we announced a further £448 million of funding for the UK SHORE programme. This funding will continue to support clean maritime solutions, including the decarbonisation of ports and vessels at berth.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to engage with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories on the impact of proposals to expand the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to international maritime voyages.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Officials from my department and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero recently ran consultation engagement sessions with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories following the publication of the consultation on expansion of the UK ETS to international maritime voyages.
Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories were also encouraged to submit a written response to the consultation. The consultation closed on the 20 January, and officials are now analysing responses.
We will continue to engage with Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories and use their input to inform policy developments.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the funding required to ensure equitable access to tissue-freezing services for cancer patients across England; and whether his Department is taking steps to reduce regional disparities.
Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Pathology services in England are delivered through 27 regional pathology networks, and offer a comprehensive range of tests, including the analysis of brain tissues. Individual pathology services maintain their own standard operating procedures (SOPs) for fresh, or snap-freezing, of tissue samples. These SOPs outline local capabilities and practices.
It is important that everyone, regardless of where they live, can access the latest innovations in the health and care system through research. The Department invests over £1.6 billion each year in research through the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR). The NIHR’s investments for capital equipment, technology, and modular buildings support National Health Service trusts across England to deliver high-quality research to improve the health of the population. This investment includes cutting edge research equipment and fixed assets such as ultra-low and cryogenic freezers, to strengthen research capacity and improve access to samples for research.
The Department is exploring options to expand brain tissue freezing capacity.