Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications for connectivity within the UK of P&O Ferries' decision to cease its ferry operations from Larne to Cairnryan.

Officials have been working at pace to ensure vital capacity is secured. I am grateful to other ferry companies that have stepped up to provide the ferry capacity that has been temporarily - and at no notice - taken out of the market by P&O Ferries. We have assurances that DFDS, Irish Ferries (with eight vessels between them) have sufficient capacity to accommodate both freight and passenger vehicles in the coming days, including on the Larne to Cairnryan route, albeit with some delays.