Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether she plans to publish the (a) nature and (b) content of concerns raised by the Ministry of Defence once they have been raised formally through appropriate channels.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Ministry of Defence has indicated its concerns relate to national security. It is therefore unlikely the content of the concerns will be published.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2024 to Question 12098 on Aquind: Electricity Interconnectors, whether she has received the representations required for the re-determination of the application.
Answered by Justin Tomlinson - Minister of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The relevant representations have not yet been finalised or submitted.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with Hitachi on its rail plant in Newton Aycliffe.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
My Department has met Hitachi Rail’s UK management team several times in recent months to discuss workload at the company’s Newton Aycliffe site. We remain keen to discuss options with Hitachi for ensuring a sustainable future for their site.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 18584 on High Speed 2 Line, when he plans to publish the phase one updated business case.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Work is continuing on an updated Business Case for the HS2 programme. This update will be completed as soon as possible.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 March 2024 to Question 18584 on High Speed 2 Line, what train services were included in the business case.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
The indicative train service specification will be published as part of the updated Business Case for the HS2 programme.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 14 December 2023 to Question 5623 on Elizabeth Line and Southeastern: Repairs and Maintenance, what progress the cross Whitehall task force has made on (a) mitigations against redundancies and (b) bringing forward (i) existing refurbishment and (ii) new contracts for (A) Southeastern Rail and (B) Elizabeth Line trains.
Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)
Ministers and officials have held intensive discussions over several months with rolling stock manufacturers to explore options to help them find viable and sustainable long-term solutions around their rolling stock capabilities. In January of this year, I published a pipeline of opportunities which I would expect all manufacturers to bid for; however, there is no guarantee on who will win these.
In March 2024, Alstom was successfully awarded a contract for the refurbishment of the CrossCountry Voyager fleet that will support UK suppliers and skilled jobs across the country.
Officials in collaboration with the operator continue to work at pace on publishing the Invitation to Negotiate for the Southeastern procurement.
The Secretary of State has met with Alstom to discuss a potential way forward regarding the Elizabeth Line fleet and a statement will be made at the appropriate time.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will hold discussions with (a) FRP Advisory and (b) The Body Shop International Limited on alleged procedural errors in recent redundancy processes.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
My officials at the Insolvency Service’s Redundancy Payments Service have been working with the administrators from FRP Advisory to ensure that employee redundancy claims can be paid as soon as possible. If employee consultation requirements in relation to redundancies have not been met, their representative may make a complaint to an Employment Tribunal. If the complaint is upheld, the Tribunal has discretionary power to make a Protective Award in compensation to the affected employees.
Administrators are licenced by a regulatory body, which would be responsible for investigating any matters relating to their conduct as officeholders. The Insolvency Service will review complaints about the conduct of the company’s directors to assess whether further investigation would be appropriate.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department is taking steps to help support people made redundant by The Body Shop International Limited.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
While this is a commercial decision for the company, we understand that this will be a concerning time for workers at The Body Shop, and we stand ready to support those impacted.
Affected employees will be able to access our broad range of support, including Universal Credit and JobCentre Plus, through the Department for Work and Pension's Rapid Response Service.
Employees who worked for the company under an employment contract may be eligible for statutory redundancy pay, compensatory notice pay, and holiday pay, for which they can apply to the Insolvency Service.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps he is taking to promote relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK supports a secure, stable, and thriving Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) within a peaceful and prosperous Iraq. We continue to encourage greater cooperation between Baghdad and Erbil to resolve their outstanding issues, such as those related to the federal budget, the oil and gas sector, payment of public salaries, and security cooperation. As intra-Kurdish tensions are impeding progress from being made, Ministers and senior UK officials have advocated repeatedly for unity and increased cooperation within the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), including respect for democratic processes.
Asked by: Stephen Morgan (Labour - Portsmouth South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department is taking to support survivors of the Halabja chemical weapons attack living in (a) Halabja and (b) the UK.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 16 March 2024, the 36th anniversary of the Halabja Chemical Attack, the British Consulate General Erbil visited Halabja and paid their respects at the 1988 Chemical Attack Commemoration.
The British Consulate General Erbil participates each year in these important commemorations and the UK remains committed in its support for the peace, stability and prosperity of the people of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.