Asked by: Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many meetings his officials had with executives of Seaborne Freight; and what the (a) length and (b) cost of those meetings was.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Several meetings involving executives of Seaborne Freight were held during contract negotiations and subsequently to discuss implementation. The full information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether any expenses were claimed by civil servants undertaking their duties to establish contractual arrangements with Seaborne Freight.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Limited incidental travelling expenses were claimed by civil servants during the course of discussions. The precise total involved could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) FTE civil servants and (b) lawyers worked on the Seaborne Freight contract during the (i) due diligence, (ii) contract management and (iii) contract cancellation processes.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
The contract awarded to Seaborne was part of a broader procurement exercise to secure additional freight capacity after Brexit, wherein nine companies were approached and contracts were awarded to three. The precise staff time involved could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the cost of legal advice was to his Department during the (a) due diligence, (b) contract management and (c) contract cancellation process for the Seaborne Freight contract.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
Combined costs of external legal, financial and project assurance advice on all three freight contracts including legal advice up to the end of December 2018 were approximately £800,000. Subsequent costs up to termination cannot yet be derived as contracts are still live and invoices pending.
Asked by: Lord Hanson of Flint (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department (a) agreed and (b) made any payments to Seaborne Freight between 30 December 2018 and 29 March 2019.
Answered by Nusrat Ghani
I refer the hon Member to my Rt Hon Friend's Written Statement of 7 January. Payments for services will not be made until the services are provided.