Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential benefits to road users in (a) Ipswich and (b) Suffolk of the upgrading of (i) Ely North Junction and (ii) Haughley Junction.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The Ely Area Capacity Enhancements (EACE) scheme would increase freight train capacity into the port of Felixstowe from 36 to 42 trains per day, as well as increasing passenger service capacity. This is the equivalent of 98,000 lorry journeys every year, which would improve road safety and reduce road congestion.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of rail strikes on the Port of Felixstowe.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department has been working closely with Network Rail and Freight Operating Companies, and those bodies with key users of rail freight such as the port of Felixstowe, to minimise disruption as far as possible during the strikes to protect critical freight flows in key industries. As part of this Network Rail is prioritising keeping essential freight routes open as far as possible, including lines to and from major ports like London Gateway, Felixstowe and Liverpool, to mitigate disruption to supply chains. Whilst a full service is not being run, there will continue to be rail freight provision for the port of Felixstowe throughout the strike period that will mitigate impacts on their operations. Departmental officials are engaged with the port, Network Rail and freight operating companies to monitor impacts.
Whilst there will be impacts on the port of Felixstowe, their current capacity levels mean that this should not cause any major congestion issues for the port at this time.
The Department maintains close engagement with the port and will be discussing mitigations and impacts with the port, post- strike, in order to inform actions for future strikes (if needed).
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, If he will list the (a) private, (b) municipal and (c) trust ports that are within the Freeport zones in England announced by the Government in March 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
There are 18 privately owned ports, 2 municipal ports, and 2 trust ports within Freeport zones. There is one port which is owned by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) but privately leased and operated. These numbers depend on how a port is classified – for the purposes of this answer, the publication Focus on Ports (2006 edition) has been used as guidance supplemented with updated information where status is known to have changed or new ports have opened. There are also 4 airports. A list by Freeport zone is below:
East Midlands
East Midlands Airport
Freeport East
Port of Felixstowe - Private
Port of Ipswich – Private
Port of Mistley – Private
Harwich Haven (includes Harwich International Port within the Harbour Authority area which is privately operated) – Trust
Humber Freeport
Port of Hull - Private
Port of Immingham - Private
Port of Goole - Private
Port of Grimsby - Private
Liverpool City Region Freeport
Port of Liverpool – Private
Port of Birkenhead - Private
Port Garston - Private
Port Weston - Private
Manchester Ship Canal (including Port Salford) - Private
Liverpool John Lennon Airport
Plymouth and South Devon Freeport
ABP Millbay Docks - Private
Sutton Harbour - Private
Port of Plymouth – Municipal
Cattewater Harbour – Trust
Solent Freeport
Port of Southampton (includes DP World Southampton terminal) – Private
Solent Gateway/Port of Marchwood – MoD owned but privately leased
Portsmouth International Port – Municipal
Southampton Airport
Teesside Freeport
Teesport and Hartlepool (includes Redcar Bulk Terminal, Port of Middlesbrough, and Port of Hartlepool) – Private
Teesside International Airport
Thames Freeport
London Gateway - Private
Port of Tilbury (including Tilbury2) - Private
Asked by: Emma Hardy (Labour - Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the proportion of UK resident seafarers employed on ferries operating from (a) Hull, (b) Immingham, (c) Harwich, (d) Felixstowe, (e) Tilbury and (f) Dover; and what steps he is taking to increase that proportion.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department does not hold data on seafarers by port or region, or seafarers specifically employed on ferries. The Seafarers in the UK shipping industry 2021 statistical release can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seafarers-in-the-uk-shipping-industry-2021/seafarers-in-the-uk-shipping-industry-2021.
The tables associated with the publication are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/seafarer-statistics-sfr.
Measures such as the amendments to the national minimum wage and the points-based visa system will increase opportunities for UK seafarers in the UK domestic market and set a minimum salary level.
The Department of Transport established the Maritime Skills Commission (MSC) to lead in ensuring the maritime sector has a pipeline of talent to serve its needs now and going forward. We remain committed to the training of seafarers with the MSC cadet review feeding into our forward planning and we have developed a range of apprenticeships for UK ratings.
Over the last five years the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has introduced a more flexible pathway for UK seafarers to qualify as ratings. By allowing the qualifying seagoing service to take place in categorised waters and on smaller vessels of at least 15 metres, the MCA have allowed those working on workboats, domestic ferries, yachts and other smaller vessels to qualify as an STCW rating.
These measures will improve employment opportunities for UK ratings both domestically and internationally.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to (a) decarbonise and (b) increase efficiency in the rail freight sector.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Pursuant to the answer of 27/04/2022 to question 160513 “To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support investment in sustainable freight locomotives.” Government remains committed to its ambition of removing all diesel-only trains (passenger and freight) from the network by 2040, as set out in our Transport Decarbonisation Plan (TDP).
We are working closely with industry to better understand opportunities for decarbonisation, including electrification, renewable hydro-treated vegetable oil (HVO), hydrogen, battery or bi-mode traction technology. For example, in 2021/22, Government funded a Connected Places Catapult-led R&D project to identify low-emission technologies for use in the rail freight estate towards stimulating innovation in the sector. We will also build extra capacity on our rail network to meet growing passenger and freight demand, supporting modal shift and incentivising the take up of low carbon traction for rail freight.
Regarding increased efficiency in the rail freight sector, Government is committed to unlocking the benefits rail freight can deliver by working towards maximising utilisation of the network and increasing rail freight’s role in supporting resilient supply chains We continue to work closely with Network Rail (NR) and Freight Operating Companies (FOCs) to increase rail freight capacity, including: increasing the number of train paths available from Felixstowe Port and through the running of longer and heavier trains. We have also committed to introducing a rail freight growth target, which will reflect the sectors own business growth ambitions.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he will take help improve rail freight capacity.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Government continues to explore improving rail freight capacity across the network. We remain committed to publishing the Rail Network Enhancements Pipeline (RNEP) update, and we have also taken steps to improve rail freight capacity by increasing the number of train paths available from and to Felixstowe Port. There have also been a range of longer and heavier freight trains which have been authorised to run on the network. In addition, we have also committed to introducing a rail freight growth target, which will reflect the sectors own business growth ambitions.
There have, in recent months, been a range of new rail freight services launched; from Liverpool and Immingham Ports and from Doncaster to Mossend.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what proportion of the 3.4 billion units of personal protective equipment identified as potential excess stock is being stored at the port of Felixstowe.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No excess stock is stored at United Kingdom ports.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2022 to Question 113799, what percentage of the storage capacity at the port of Felixstowe is currently in use.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
Whilst the Department is aware of operational status at Felixstowe, the information is provided on a discretionary, commercially confidential basis. I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave on 2 February to Question UIN 113799 , that the port is in a position to appropriately manage current container volumes.
Asked by: Sarah Olney (Liberal Democrat - Richmond Park)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the current operational capacity of the port at Felixstowe.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The Department engages closely with the Port of Felixstowe to understand the current status of its operations. The last quarter of 2021 was challenging against a background of global and domestic supply chain issues. Felixstowe worked closely with industry partners across the supply chain to manage operational volumes.
While January and February remain operationally busier than normal, the Port with its supply chain partners is in a position to appropriately manage current container volumes and operations.
Asked by: Lord Bradshaw (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the proposed Ely area capacity enhancement project will make adequate provision for any increase in demand for freight train paths from East Coast ports to (1) the Midlands, and (2) the North of England.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The proposed Ely Area Capacity Enhancement programme is part of a wider route strategy to unlock additional freight paths to serve East Coast ports. It would provide capacity for long-term growth which would be realised in stages, as this programme and wider route investment is delivered. In the short-term Network Rail has temporarily increased the number of freight paths available from the Port of Felixstowe.