Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 19th April 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

What we want to do is get the cost of running the railways down so we take the pressure off fares and off the taxpayers’ subsidy. We need to be fair to both the groups that fund the railways and it is vital that we go forward with our programme to give better value for money and eliminate the inefficiency in the railways that arose under Labour’s term of office. In its term of office, fares rose and inefficiency increased dramatically in the railways.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

My hon. Friend will be aware that the Opposition said they would cap train fares this year by the retail prices index plus 1%, but where Labour is in control, in Wales, it has maintained the 5% flex element. Is this not just another case of the Opposition saying one thing but doing another?

[Mrs Villiers]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We cannot believe a word Labour says on fares. The Leader of the Opposition stood at the Dispatch Box and said that the fares basket flexibility was an outrage, yet the Labour Administration in Cardiff are still using it. When it comes to Ken Livingstone, we cannot believe a word he says either on fares.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 12th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mrs Villiers]

I certainly noted the hon. Gentleman’s concerns about ScotRail. I will take them on board and officials will be happy to raise them with Transport Scotland.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

The west coast main line franchise, which serves the west of Scotland, is up for renewal next year. What consideration have bidders for the franchise been asked to put in place to ensure that no disturbance is caused by the construction of HS2, either at Euston or in the London area during the period of that franchise?

[Mrs Villiers]

It will be a very important part of the planning process for the construction of HS2 that every effort is made to minimise the disruption on existing rail networks. Indeed, that is one of the reasons why building a new high-speed rail network is a better option than seeking to eke more capacity out of the existing west coast main line, given the decade of disruption that passengers suffered on that. There will be an impact on Euston, but a huge amount of effort is going to be put into ensuring that that is minimised.

High-speed Rail

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justine Greening]

The hon. Gentleman points out the very welcome investment from Hitachi in his area. Combined with the unprecedented investment that the Government are making in our railways today and in future, which I have announced today, that bodes well for creating more jobs building rolling stock in the UK.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

I warmly welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement today, which will deliver massive long-term benefits for the north of England. However, during the construction phase of High Speed 2, it is likely that there will be significant disturbance to the existing west coast main line, in particular because of work at Euston station. Has she considered how to ensure that existing services are protected during construction?

[Justine Greening]

We will work in a very detailed fashion to make sure any disruption is minimised. The disruption will be significantly less than the disruption that there would have been if we had had a strategy of upgrades to lines, including the west coast main line.

Cruise Ship Safety

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Tuesday 1st November 2011 Westminster Hall

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

In March this year, a constituent of mine, 24-year-old Rebecca Coriam, disappeared while working for a British employment agency on a Bahamian-registered, American-based, Disney cruise ship in international waters off the coast of Mexico. Rebecca was living her dream, working as a member of the youth staff on the cruise ship, Disney Wonder, which was cruising out of Los Angeles on a seven-day cruise along the Mexican coast. Rebecca was last seen shortly before dawn on 22 March. She failed to report to work at 9 am and the alarm was raised shortly afterwards. The crew initiated a search of the ship, and she was listed as missing at sea. While the Disney Wonder sailed on to her next destination, the Mexican coastguard searched the waters behind the ship and found nothing. The Disney Wonder is registered in the Bahamas and, under international maritime law, it is the responsibility of the Bahamas Maritime Authority to investigate Rebecca’s disappearance. Despite an ongoing investigation of more than seven months, Rebecca’s family are still awaiting news of what happened to their daughter.

The reason for calling the debate is the recognition that while international maritime law requires cruise ships to take every possible measure to provide safe passage, those measures are often ambiguous and are incorporated into UK and international law through a variety of legislation. When something goes wrong at sea, it is frequently impossible to establish responsibility and to ensure a thorough investigation. Victims are often left without protection, without support and with little prospect of securing justice.

Cruising is now one of Britain’s favourite holidays, with around one in nine package holidays being cruise vacations. The number of people cruising has doubled in the past 10 years, including around 1.62 million British people last year. Despite the global recession, the UK cruise industry expects to reach a total of 2 million passengers by 2014. Cruising also has the massively beneficial effect of bringing tourists to the UK. In 2010, a record 116 ships visited 47 UK ports from 53 different cruise lines, bringing 541,000 visitors to the UK. Those figures are more than double those recorded as recently as for 2003. Yet how many of those holidaymakers, passengers and crew realise that, if something goes wrong on their ship, they may be almost totally unprotected?

The first issue with incidents at sea is that national jurisdiction extends only so far beyond a nation’s border. Once a ship is more than 24 miles from any coastline, it is on the high seas, in international waters, and the law of that ship is then the law of the country whose flag it flies and responsibility for crimes on board the ship lies with the legal authority of that country. That in itself creates a number of problems, because, to avoid stringent safety rules and regulations and for tax purposes, many cruise companies register their ships in countries with little affiliation to the actual operation of their company. For example, nine of the largest cruise companies operating in the UK, which regularly carry hundreds of thousands of British citizens every year, have a total fleet of 93 cruise ships: 42 are registered in the Bahamas, 25 in Bermuda, 15 in Panama, four in Malta and one each in Cyprus, Italy, Ecuador and Liberia. As for the three remaining ships, when preparing for the debate, I could not track down in which country they were registered.

In Rebecca’s case, the Disney Wonder cruise ship was registered in the Bahamas. If I briefly describe the investigation that took place into Rebecca’s disappearance, it will become obvious why I have serious concerns about the protection of British citizens while at sea. One officer from the Bahamas Maritime Authority boarded the ship—one officer, three days after Rebecca’s disappearance, for a ship with a capacity of 2,700 passengers and 950 crew. Little formal questioning of the ship’s crew or passengers occurred, little effort was made to gather or secure evidence and little if any forensic investigation took place on board. After seven months, Rebecca’s family are still awaiting news of what happened to their daughter. How could we have allowed that to happen to a British citizen? We have the disappearance of a young Englishwoman, hired by an English corporation to sail on a cruise ship out of a US port, and yet not a single British or American police or forensic team went on board the cruise ship in the days following her disappearance.

Contrary to that pitiful investigation, however, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, under “Travel & living abroad” then “Cruise ship passengers”, states:

“Significant crimes against British nationals on any ship can in certain circumstances be reported to UK police and may be investigated even though they occurred outside the territory of the UK.

A crime may also be reported to the authorities in the port/country in which the ship was docked (or was headed) when the crime was committed with the result that local law enforcement agencies may also be involved in the investigation”,

yet only one officer from an authority that is internationally recognised as almost toothless investigated the disappearance of a British citizen. In my opinion, that is appalling.

I myself am an enthusiastic cruiser, and I do not intend to berate the British cruise industry. I like to think of myself as someone who pays attention to detail when taking my family abroad, and yet before I was approached by the Coriam family in March of this year, I had no idea, if anything happened to me or my family on board a cruise ship, that the UK authorities or even the authorities in the countries that we were visiting would be impotent to help me seek justice. The Minister must acknowledge that the risks associated with the practice of flagging ships in obscure countries, such as the Bahamas, Panama, Liberia or Ecuador, are unknown to the vast majority of those 1.6 million British citizens who cruise each year. Passengers must be made aware of the jurisdiction that they will be sailing under before they book a cruise holiday and of the potential downsides of sailing under a flag of convenience.

If people go on holiday to the Bahamas and something happens to them, they expect it to be investigated by the Bahamian police. If people were to fly from London to Hong Kong in an aircraft, they would quite rightly not expect the Bahamian police to investigate a crime that happened on board. For crimes in the air, because of the Tokyo convention of 1963, the country of landing has jurisdiction. Similarly, if people go on a cruise ship owned by a US company sailing off the coast of Mexico, they do not expect to be totally reliant on the Bahamian police. If airlines can sort out the problem of jurisdiction through the Tokyo convention, why cannot cruise ships? Rebecca’s case highlights the urgent need for greater clarity of jurisdiction if we are to sufficiently and swiftly seek justice on behalf of British citizens.

I want to make it clear that not only cases of missing people must be considered when discussing crimes at sea. Violence, theft and sexual assault also occur on cruise liners, and investigations are often as fruitless as in the cases of missing persons. There are no centrally collated records of crimes at sea. In fact, many cruise ships are not even required to keep their own logbook of incidents on board. It is not unsurprising that cruise ships and cruise companies do not publish the number of offences that occur on board, and only by trawling through international records and news reports and through contacts with victims and their families can campaign groups such as the International Cruise Victims association and Victim Support collate figures. International Cruise Victims states that at least 165 people have gone missing at sea since 1995, with at least 19 so far this year alone.

Sexual crime on board cruise ships is also a problem. Incidents of sexual assault and sexual victimisation are significantly more common on board cruise ships than on land. The south Florida newspaper, the Sun Sentinel, obtained copies of FBI reports of serious crimes on board cruise ships between December 2007 and October 2008. The sexual assault and sexual contact reports from just one ship, the Carnival Valor, which is registered in Panama, indicates the possible scale of the problem: 15 January 2008, female passenger victim; 21 January, female passenger victim; 6 March, female passenger victim; 21 March, 16-year-old female victim; 24 March, female crew victim; 8 June, female crew victim; 13 June, 16-year-old female victim; 9 September, female crew victim; 17 September, female passenger victim. Just one ship in less than one year reported nine sexual assaults and sexual contacts to the FBI.

Improving the prevention and investigation of crimes at sea needs a twofold approach, which includes tightening safety regulations governing cruise ships and clarifying international co-operation when investigating crimes. Last year in the United States, President Obama signed into law the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act 2010, which is designed to increase security, law enforcement and accountability on cruise ships in international waters and for ships that visit US ports. I urge the Minister to consider implementing a similar Act in the UK. Bringing together the variety of laws that currently govern cruise ships into one concise and comprehensive set of regulations would go some way to improving the safety of cruise ships. However, that is only the tip of the iceberg.

The Minister will doubtless tell us about the extremely high standards that pertain to ships flying the red ensign, and he will be totally right. However, by the end of this year there will be no cruise ships registered in the UK. The last three ships—the three Cunard Queens—have re-registered in Bermuda in the past few days. He will also tell us about the high standards imposed on ships registered in Crown dependencies, and he will be right about that, too. I am sure that he will also tell us about the high standards that the UK imposes on cruise ships that dock in the UK, about which he will also be right. However, the vast majority of British cruise passengers sail ships registered in different jurisdictions, which might be the Bahamas, Panama or Liberia. The majority of British cruises now sail from ports outside the UK, of which there were almost 1 million in the past year alone.

When it comes to crime against British subjects on ships registered with a flag of convenience from ports outside the UK, British nationals such as Rebecca can be almost alone and unprotected if they are the victim of crime. They may not even be aware of that until it is too late. It is vital that passengers be made aware of the jurisdiction they will be sailing under before they book a cruise holiday, and they must be made aware of the potential downsides of sailing under a flag of convenience.

It is also imperative for the UK authorities to take greater responsibility for investigating crimes against UK nationals that occur on the high seas. I urge the Minister to work with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to co-ordinate with the International Maritime Organisation and with international law enforcement agencies such as Interpol to help synchronise a more coherent structure for criminal investigations in international waters and on ships flying flags of convenience.

More needs to be done to safeguard British citizens on cruise ships. I hope that the Minister and his Department will take on board these concerns and ensure that action is taken to do just that.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2011 Commons Chamber

[Alun Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan) (Con)]

4. What steps she is taking to improve arrangements for flexible working.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

7. What steps she is taking to improve arrangements for flexible working.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller)]

We want people to be able to balance their work and caring responsibilities, and the Government are committed to removing the barriers to that. Over the summer, we put forward our proposals to extend to all employees the right to request flexible working, and we will respond to that consultation in due course.

--- Later in debate ---

[Maria Miller]

I think my hon. Friend mentions one incentive himself and makes a very good point: the flexibility itself can be an incentive for companies to take it up. But we have set up legislative opportunities to improve the situation and, importantly, non-legislative opportunities, because the very culture of companies—in particular, the culture of “presenteeism”, which unfortunately too often pervades small and large companies—can make it very difficult for employees to take up flexible working.

[Stephen Mosley]

Many Members of the House will have personal experience of trying to juggle a career and looking after small children. What action is my hon. Friend taking to help parents of young children to return to the work force after looking after their children?

[Maria Miller]

I was in that position, a few years ago now. It is a difficult transition to make. That is why we are making it a great priority to introduce a new system of flexible parental leave so that new parents can choose how to share child care between them. That, along with our reforms of the benefits system under universal credit, will help many more women in particular to stay close to the labour market.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 23rd June 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hammond]

The hon. Lady is right that we have a big challenge in relation to aviation growth in the south-east. What I did not hear her do was repeat Labour’s policy to build a third runway at Heathrow airport. Perhaps at some stage she could tell the House whether that remains Labour’s policy. The coalition Government cancelled the third runway at Heathrow because of the unacceptable environmental burden that it imposed, but we are committed to developing a new and sustainable aviation strategy that will allow the growth of aviation in the UK—but only when it meets its environmental obligations.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

2. What recent representations he has received on varying national motorway speed limits.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Mike Penning)]

My ministerial colleagues and I have received a variety of representations, including via the red tape challenge to the highways regulations, on the subject of varying the motorway speed limit. The issue raises interesting aspects of our current behaviour, and we will continue to look at it.

[Stephen Mosley]

The maximum motorway speed limit in several European countries, including France, Italy and Germany, is currently greater than 80 mph. In order to help deliver the economic benefit of reduced journey time, will my hon. Friend consider increasing the motorway speed limit to 80 mph?

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 10th March 2011 Commons Chamber

[Lynne Featherstone]

I would like to put on record our congratulations to Steven Davies, the English cricketer, and Gareth Thomas, the Welsh rugby player on coming out. This is an important issue and we look forward to working with the Football Association to create an atmosphere and ambience in which footballers should feel free to come out as they wish—not just for the sake of the league and themselves, but for the sake of youngsters all over the country who should be able to play on any sports field free of any discrimination.

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

3. What recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills on parental leave for maternity and paternity.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller)]

The Government are committed to introducing a system of flexible parental leave that recognises the needs of businesses and parents, balancing work and family life. We will consult fully on this reform, particularly with small and medium-sized enterprises. An announcement will be made later in the spring.

[Stephen Mosley]

How does the Minister propose to ensure that the welcome result of more flexible and more family-friendly working will not adversely affect small business?

[Maria Miller]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue, which I know is important to many hon. Members. The Government have a strong culture of regulatory restraint, but we need to make sure that regulations keep pace with family life and the realities of parents needing to balance their family life with work. We are already in discussions with employers about how to ensure that the proposals we put forward will benefit businesses and families. We will make sure that the consultation informs our decision.

Oral Answers to Questions

Stephen Mosley Excerpts

Thursday 28th October 2010 Commons Chamber

[Stephen Mosley (City of Chester) (Con)]

7. When she plans to begin her proposed consultation on a new system for flexible parental leave.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Maria Miller)]

The Government are committed to encouraging shared parenting and making the workplace more family friendly. We will launch a consultation in due course on the design of a new system of flexible shared parental leave.

[Maria Miller]

I share my hon. Friend’s disappointment at the outcome of the first reading vote in the European Parliament. The measures that have been put forward are highly regressive and we do not support them. They would cost the UK at least £2.4 billion a year.

[Stephen Mosley]

It is desirable for fathers to be able to play a much larger role in the lives of their young children. However, the Government also need to take into account and support very small businesses, which may face pressures on their work force if key personnel have flexible time off. What discussions has the Minister had with the business community on the implementation of flexible parental leave?

[Maria Miller]

As my hon. Friend may be aware, one in seven working people now has a caring responsibility and the issue of balancing work and family life is of growing importance. The Government are committed to a strong culture of regulatory restraint so, in looking at the introduction of shared parental leave, we will consult fully with businesses, small, medium and large.