Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to protect UK seafarers employed by ferry companies in receipt of the Critical Freight Grant.

I recognise how important UK seafarers are to the maritime sector and I remain committed to supporting and protecting them. Funding via the Critical Freight Grants has been provided to maintain the flow of critical goods on 16 RoRo freight routes, with contracts given to 6 operators across the 16 routes. The funding is in place to maintain capacity on specific routes, it is not about supporting specific operators. We will continue to monitor these and all other freight routes so that critical goods continue to come into the UK.

To support seafarers, the Government has made available an unprecedented financial support package, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Any employer with a UK bank account and PAYE scheme is eligible for a grant to cover 80% of the wages of its employees, up to £2500 per month. There scheme is available for both UK and foreign seafarers who work for firms that fulfil the two key eligibility requirements. On the 12th May the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended further and will now remain open until the end of October and so should continue to aid seafarers.