Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) on the level of uptake amongst (a) shipowners and (b) maritime training providers of Support for Maritime Training funding to train apprentice (i) deck and (ii) engineering ratings in the special circumstances set out in the MCA's document entitled MIN 707 (M): UK STCW Merchant Rating Training, Skills, Progression and Funding Availability, published on 11 April 2025.

We have regular discussions with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on a range of issues.

The Department monitors progress on the level of uptake amongst shipowners or maritime training providers of Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) funding for the training of apprentice deck and engineering ratings through the Ratings Review Group, which is chaired by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.