Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent notifications she has received that (a) Chiltern Railways, (b) Cross Country Trains, (c) Greater Anglia, (d) LNER, (e) East Midlands Railway, (f) c2c, (g) Great Western Railway, (h) GTR, (i) Northern Trains, (j) South Eastern, (k) South Western Railway, (l) TransPennine Express, (m) Avanti West Coast and (n) West Midlands Trains plan to submit applications to close ticket offices regulated by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
We want to move staff from behind the ticket office screens to more visible and accessible roles around stations which better support customers and train operating companies have set out early proposals for station retail reform. Any decisions which are taken will be made in accordance with the TSA and the relevant guidance.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether her permission is required for train operating companies to commence consultations over closures of ticket offices regulated by Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement.
Answered by Kevin Foster
There is a process already set out in the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement which train operating companies must follow to commence proposed closures of ticket offices, which includes public and industry engagement.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when public consultations will be launched on ticket office closures by train operating companies; and when ticket office closures will commence.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Secretary of State has held no recent discussions directly with train operating companies about ticket offices.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the train operating companies on plans to close ticket offices.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Secretary of State has held no recent discussions directly with train operating companies about ticket offices.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to (a) prepare a scoping exercise and (b) enhance the effectiveness of provisions on fatigue and seafarers' hours of work and rest in line with the approval of outputs at the 105th Session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The United Kingdom co-sponsored a paper presented at the Maritime Safety Committee in April 2022 which proposed initiating a scoping exercise and enhancement of the effectiveness of provisions on seafarers’ hours of work and rest hours and fatigue. The UK has since met with the World Maritime University to discuss its contents with a view to supporting progress on these work items for consideration at the International Maritime Organization’s eighth session of the Human element, Training and Watchkeeping Sub-Committee.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the outcomes of the 105th Session of the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organisation held in London on 20-29 April 2022.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
The UK continues to play an active role within the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and treats matters related to maritime safety with the utmost importance. As with all meetings of the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), the Ministers remains sighted of the full agenda spanning a wide variety of policy areas which for the 105th Session included ship construction standards, maritime autonomous surface ships, maritime security and piracy, and the provision of satellites which transmit Marine Safety Information.
The Department continues to monitor the outcomes of all IMO Committees and how these affect domestic policy matters. In this instance, those of the 105th Session of the Maritime Safety Committee and how these affect domestic policy matters.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he has taken to promote the nine-point plan in response to P&O Ferries that was announced on 30 March 2022 at formal meetings of the (a) International Labour Organisation and (b) International Maritime Organisation.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As part of the seafarer protections nine-point plan, the government is working with industry and social partners to create a framework to advance employment and welfare protections for seafarers.
The government promoted measures to improve seafarer welfare at the International Labour Organization’s recent Fourth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC). The UK supported eight amendments to the MLC, including measures to improve seafarers’ access to the internet, to ensure that appropriately-sized personal protective equipment is available to support women seafarers, to clarify that drinking water should be provided free of charge, and to require that food aboard is of an appropriate quality and nutritional value.
We are continuing to highlight our ambitious seafarer protections nine-point plan and the wider objectives of Maritime 2050 to international partners both bilaterally and at the multilateral level at every opportunity (including at the IMO and ILO), as we work towards a step change in seafarer protections and welfare at the global level.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward proposals to tackle seafarer fatigue in the ferry sector at the 106th Session of the International Maritime Organisation’s Maritime Safety Committee in London from 31 October to 4 November 2022.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As part of the seafarer protections nine-point plan, the government is working with industry and social partners to create a framework to advance employment and welfare protections for seafarers.
The government promoted measures to improve seafarer welfare at the International Labour Organization’s recent Fourth Meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC). The UK supported eight amendments to the MLC, including measures to improve seafarers’ access to the internet, to ensure that appropriately-sized personal protective equipment is available to support women seafarers, to clarify that drinking water should be provided free of charge, and to require that food aboard is of an appropriate quality and nutritional value.
We are continuing to highlight our ambitious seafarer protections nine-point plan and the wider objectives of Maritime 2050 to international partners both bilaterally and at the multilateral level at every opportunity (including at the IMO and ILO), as we work towards a step change in seafarer protections and welfare at the global level.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations he has received on the impact of industrial action on the railways from (a) rail industry organisations and (b) devolved authorities.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Our railways are on financial life support. We have lost a quarter of our passengers and the Government has spent £16 billion during the pandemic, equivalent to nearly £600 per household, irrespective of whether they use the railways, to keep subsidising the railway. We need to make our railways fit for the future and want a fair deal for staff, passengers, and taxpayers so the railway does not take money away from other essential public services such as the NHS.
Unions are threatening industrial action before talks have even begun. Strikes should be the last resort, not the first. They will stop customers choosing rail, and those passengers might never return, killing services and jobs. The RMT trade union are balloting 40,000 members from across England, Wales and Scotland for industrial action and we would expect the relevant devolved authorities to be engaging with the employers in affected areas.
Train operating companies are the employers of rail staff, not the Government. They, therefore, individually negotiate with trade unions on matters such as pay.
The Department has a commercial relationship with train operators, and we maintain a public register of rail contracts available on the Government website at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-register-of-rail-passenger-contracts. This contains guidance on how to request information and what information we are unable to publish.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Train Operating Companies will be permitted to individually negotiate pay settlements in the event of an industrial dispute.
Answered by Wendy Morton
Our railways are on financial life support. We have lost a quarter of our passengers and the Government has spent £16 billion during the pandemic, equivalent to nearly £600 per household, irrespective of whether they use the railways, to keep subsidising the railway. We need to make our railways fit for the future and want a fair deal for staff, passengers, and taxpayers so the railway does not take money away from other essential public services such as the NHS.
Unions are threatening industrial action before talks have even begun. Strikes should be the last resort, not the first. They will stop customers choosing rail, and those passengers might never return, killing services and jobs. The RMT trade union are balloting 40,000 members from across England, Wales and Scotland for industrial action and we would expect the relevant devolved authorities to be engaging with the employers in affected areas.
Train operating companies are the employers of rail staff, not the Government. They, therefore, individually negotiate with trade unions on matters such as pay.
The Department has a commercial relationship with train operators, and we maintain a public register of rail contracts available on the Government website at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-register-of-rail-passenger-contracts. This contains guidance on how to request information and what information we are unable to publish.