Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to her Department's statistics entitled Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2024, published on 26 February 2025, if she will work with maritime trade unions to set targets for the number of maritime apprentices in (a) Deck, (b) Engine, (c) Electro-technical (d) Catering and (e) On Board Service roles.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK has a strategic need to ensure a pipeline of trained seafarers, particularly with greener ships, future fuels, new technologies and automation. The Department is working with the sector, including trade unions, to deliver the recommendations from the Ratings Review, published in 2023. This will ensure the UK has the ratings workforce needed to secure the long-term strength of our maritime industry.
Asked by: Terry Jermy (Labour - South West Norfolk)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to take steps to help reduce the skills gap in rural areas.
Answered by Janet Daby - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The government is developing a comprehensive strategy for post‐16 education and skills, to break down barriers to opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce and drive economic growth through our Industrial Strategy across all areas of the country, including rural areas.
The department has established Skills England to ensure we have the highly trained workforce needed to deliver the national, regional and local skills needs of the next decade. It will work together with regional and local governments, employers, education providers, trade unions and regional organisations to ensure that regional and national skills needs are met.
This builds on the work of Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), which provide an agreed set of actionable priorities that help to better align provision of post-16 technical education and training with local labour market needs. LSIPs cover all areas of England, supporting local innovation and growth so that every part of the country is able to succeed in its own unique way. In rural areas, plans recognise the importance of developing skilled workforces and expertise in priority local industries that can support these areas' growth and sustainability. For example, the Cumbria LSIP highlights the need for specific skills relevant to land-based industries, as well as addressing immediate skills challenges in the visitor economy and care sectors.
The Greater Lincolnshire LSIP identifies priority actions to help develop a localised workforce that can sustain infrastructure projects and technological and environmental opportunities across the area. LSIPs are also helping to support rural areas and communities through the removal of local barriers, such as poor digital connectivity, deprivation and economic inactivity. For example, the Heart of the South West LSIP reviewed ways that local and regional stakeholders can collaborate to leverage funding to help resolve how a lack of accommodation and transport in rural areas impacts on recruitment, development and retention of employees, tutors and students.
The Norfolk and Suffolk LSIP, which is led by Norfolk Chambers of Commerce and includes the constituency of South West Norfolk, is designed to help ensure investors and businesses in rural areas across Norfolk and Suffolk have access to a competitive and diverse pool of highly skilled employees, especially in key local industries such as agri-food tech and low carbon energy.
Specifically, the Norfolk and Suffolk LSIP has helped to develop various training programmes and prioritises continuous training opportunities, including vocational training in specific industries, staff training programmes in green technologies and sustainability curriculum integration. The LSIP also plays a key role in upskilling and reskilling the local workforce in the cross-cutting needs employers have said they need most, such as digital skills and soft skills.
The department is committed to making a success of T Levels and extending the opportunity they provide to as many young people as possible. 21 T Levels are now being delivered in providers across the country, many of which are in rural locations, creating opportunities for young people to develop skills for work and life.
The department funds the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to support schools and colleges to deliver modern, high quality careers education through a national network of 44 careers hubs and over 3,800 business volunteers. Almost 400 leading employers, including the National Trust, National Farmers Union and Worldwide Fruit, provide local leadership in Careers Hubs to increase opportunities for meaningful employer encounters and workplace experiences. The CEC collaborates with the Institute for Agriculture and Horticulture, ensuring that careers information is promoted to schools via its digital platform and Careers Hub Networks.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to consult maritime trade unions ahead of the fifth meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention at the International Labour Organization in Geneva on 7-11 April.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department regularly engages with the maritime trade unions, including through meetings of the UK Tripartite Working Group on the Maritime Labour Convention.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what industrial disputes are ongoing within (a) their Department and (b) each of the arm’s length bodies connected to their Department; how many (i) staff and (ii) contractors are involved in each dispute; what the form of industrial action is in each dispute; which recognised trade union is involved in each dispute; what the substantive matter is that is being disputed in each case; and what steps he plans to take to end each dispute.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
No recognised trade union currently holds a mandate to call industrial action in the Department for Transport or its Executive Agencies.
Members of PCS and Prospect unions in the Civil Aviation Authority have voted to take industrial action in a dispute over pay. The CAA is a statutory corporation and a public corporation of the Department for Transport. The number of staff potentially involved in the dispute is approximately 1,600, although it is estimated that 22% of staff are members of these unions.
PCS has called for a two-day strike commencing on 16 January followed by an overtime ban and work to rule.
Prospect has called for an overtime ban and work to rule commencing on 20 January.
Ministers look forward to a speedy resolution of this dispute and note that discussions between CAA management and unions are continuing. The pay of employees of the CAA is wholly a matter for the organisation itself.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions officials in her Department have had with the (a) States of Jersey, (b) States of Guernsey, (c) ferry operators and (d) trade unions on the long term provision of ferry services from (i) Poole and (ii) Portsmouth to the Channel Islands.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Maritime officials within the Department have had no discussions on the long-term provision of ferry services from (i) Poole and (ii) Portsmouth to the Channel Islands.
Ferry services are predominantly run on a commercial basis without UK government intervention. However, where services are pertinent to local and regional objectives, relevant bodies can become involved in the specification of service provision. In this case, we understand that the governments of the States of Guernsey and Jersey have undertaken a procurement process to meet the Islands’ ferry service needs. This is a matter for those States, and therefore this Department has not had discussions with Islands, ferry providers, or unions, in this instance.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) shipowners, (b) training providers and (c) trade unions on the provision of maritime apprenticeships.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The UK must continue to be at the leading edge of maritime skills and provide a world-class education to benefit both UK economic growth and support a maritime sector fit for the challenges and opportunities ahead. This is why DfT officials are engaging with the Department for Education on the establishment of Skills England. Ministers will be kept updated on this work as it progresses and will hold discussions with industry and Cabinet colleagues as appropriate.
Asked by: Neil Duncan-Jordan (Labour - Poole)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if her Department will make a comparative assessment of the (a) effectiveness and (b) safety of operating train doors by (i) Driver Control Operation and (ii) the driver opening doors and the guard closing them.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
We look to the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), as the independent safety regulator for Britain’s railways, to ensure operators have the right procedures in place for both driver and guard operated doors to safeguard passengers when embarking and disembarking trains.
The ORR has concluded that passengers can be dispatched safely and effectively with driver control operated doors, provided suitable equipment, procedures and competent staff are in place. These should be consistent with the principles for driver-controlled operation that the ORR has developed in consultation with train operators and trade unions. The ORR will, nonetheless, continue to keep dispatch arrangements under review to ensure any risks are mitigated effectively.
Asked by: John McDonnell (Independent - Hayes and Harlington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with (a) maritime trade unions and (b) the UK Chamber of Shipping on the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011: post implementation review, published on 19 April 2024.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department has not had recent formal discussions with the maritime unions or the UK Chamber of Shipping on the post implementation review of the Equality Act 2010, published on 19 April 2024.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for the compliance and enforcement of the Equality Act 2010 regulations. Enforcement is not within the remit of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) inspectors. However, where the MCA receives credible evidence of potential offences under legislation outside of its enforcement responsibilities then this information will be shared with the appropriate agency or agencies.
The Department has not had recent discussions with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission regarding seafarers working in UK waters. We continue to liaise with our near European neighbours as well as working through international organisations to create a step change in seafarer welfare. The Department is reviewing the Equality Act 2010 (Work on Ships and Hovercraft) Regulations 2011 and, if necessary, will engage with the EHRC subject to the outcome of the call for evidence and review.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if she will have discussions with (a) ministerial colleagues in the Department for Transport, (b) operators, (c) the offshore oil and gas industry and (d) trade unions on the safety of offshore helicopter transport operations.
Answered by Graham Stuart
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State meets regularly with her ministerial colleagues and other stakeholders, including the offshore oil and gas trade association, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), to discuss a wide range of subjects.
Officials also meet regularly with OEUK, who are working closely on offshore safety issues with helicopter operators, oil and gas operators and contractors, offshore trade unions, the pilots’ union BALPA, the relevant regulators (Health and Safety Executive and the Civil Aviation Authority) and trade associations.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent discussions she has had with the Department for Transport on the regulation of helicopter transport services for offshore oil and gas workers.
Answered by Graham Stuart
The regulation of helicopter transport services for offshore oil and gas workers is a matter for other bodies, such as the Civil Aviation Authority. Officials are in regular contact with Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), which engages directly on this issue on behalf of the offshore oil and gas sector with relevant bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive, the Civil Aviation Authority, helicopter operators, oil and gas operators and contractors, offshore trade unions, and the pilots’ union BALPA