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Written Question
Railways: Finance
Thursday 28th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Answer of 25 November 2020 to Question 120953 on Network Rail: Finance and pursuant to the Answer of 12 March 2024 to Question 18100 on Railways: Finance, what assessment he has made of the causes of the differential in the rail enhancements budget for 2019 to 2024.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The answer provided 25 November 2020 to Question 120953 on “Network Rail: Finance” referred to the budget for rail enhancements during the years 2019-2024. The answer provided 12 March 2024 to Question 18100 on “Railways: Finance” referred to the spend on rail enhancements in each year of that period. The comparison is therefore of a budget, stated as £9.4bn after Spending Review 2020, to the spend against that budget estimated at £8.63bn over the same period. There is no differential in the rail enhancements budget implied by that comparison. The difference in the figures comes from a degree of underspending against budget in each year of the first 4 years of the period.


Written Question
Large Goods Vehicles: Europe
Wednesday 27th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he plans to publish the roads good vehicles travelling to Europe statistics for April 2023 to March 2024; and when this series will conclude.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Road Goods Travelling to Europe statistical series is currently undergoing a quality review due to a potential supplier data issue. We are working with our data supplier to assess this issue, and updates to this statistical series will resume once the matter has been resolved. Dates for future publications will be communicated via our release calendar (available at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-transport/about/statistics) as soon as possible. There are no immediate plans to cease this statistical series, and any future variation would be consulted on as per Code of Practice for Statistics.


Written Question
Railways: Passengers
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the accuracy of projected future rail passenger volumes made by consultancy Steer in its report entitled Research on Long-Term Passenger Demand Growth, published on 19 February 2024.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Department is aware and has reviewed the report entitled Research on Long-Term Passenger Demand Growth by Steer. Rail demand is uncertain – especially over the long term. DfT produces a range of different future rail demand and revenue scenarios in line with our published guidance which have a number of uses including supporting investment decisions. The projections produced by RIA/Steer are not aligned methodologically with the Department’s Common Analytical Scenarios (CAS).


Written Question
Railways: Carbon Emissions
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of Network Rail's Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Traction Decarbonisation Network Strategy (TDNS) was published by Network Rail in 2020 and primarily recommended electrification as a means to decarbonise the rail network.

The TDNS was used by Government as a guide for decision making. However, alternative traction technologies, such as battery and bi-mode trains, will also play key roles in our transition to Net Zero. We are progressing work on a whole systems approach to decarbonisation by ensuring both track and train are considered.

The Government still expects electrification to play an important role in our programme to achieve our Net Zero 2050 target, which is why since 2010, more than 1,250 miles of electrification has been delivered in Great Britain, including over 900 miles in England and Wales in the last 11 years.


Written Question
Shipping: Pay
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will list the mandatory employment conditions excluding national minimum wage rates which apply to seafarers working on routes between maritime ports in the territorial waters of (a) the UK and (b) France.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Extensive details of mandatory employment conditions for seafarers are set out in international conventions including the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 and corresponding UK legislation.

In addition to improving working conditions through our Nine Point Plan for Seafarer Protections, the UK continues to play a leading role internationally in improving seafarer welfare.


Written Question
P&O Ferries
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions his Department has had with P&O Ferries.

Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

We welcome P&O Ferries’ statement that it is committed to signing the Seafarers’ Charter, following Brittany Ferries, Condor, DFDS and Stena Line in committing to work towards meeting its requirements.

Following P&O Ferries’ commitment, officials met representatives of the company on Monday 18 March for a technical discussion on how compliance with the Charter requirements should be demonstrated. We anticipate further such discussions.


Written Question
European Company for the Financing of Railroad Rolling Stock Convention
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of the UK signing up to the European Company for the Financing of Railroad Rolling Stock convention.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The Government is supportive of international initiatives to help deliver new vehicles and upgrade existing fleets that improve passenger experience and support our decarbonisation objectives. We are committed to encouraging investment in domestic and international rail services and unlocking greater private financing to support this.

My officials have engaged regularly with Eurofima, the company established by the convention, to discuss the potential opportunities and costs associated with it. However, given the significant membership requirements of Eurofima, any decision would be subject to the usual value for money considerations.


Written Question
Railways: Public Appointments
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recruitment process his Department followed for the recent appointment of the Director General for Rail Services on 18 March 2024.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

On 18 March 2024 the Department for Transport announced the appointment of Alex Hynes to the role of Director General for Rail Services. Alex has been appointed through a time-bound secondment agreement with Network Rail. Appropriate approvals were sought and obtained including from the Cabinet Office, HM Treasury and Civil Service Commission.


Written Question
Avanti West Coast: Catering
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the on-board catering capacity of the Class 390 Pendolino trains operated by Avanti West Coast following the refurbishment of that train fleet.

Answered by Huw Merriman - Minister of State (Department for Transport)

The on-board catering capacity on the refurbished Class 390 Pendolino fleet is a matter for the operator. However, officials regularly hold Avanti West Coast (AWC) to account on the on-board customer experience they provide to passengers including catering services.


Written Question
Prison Officers: Pension Rights
Friday 22nd March 2024

Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the last pre-Fresh Start prison officer with reserved pension rights retired from service.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Currently there are 11 full time and 181 partially retired operational uniform staff who retained Pre-Fresh Start Reserved Rights Terms under the legacy PCSPS Classic scheme. There are also 19 partially retired Operational Managers who retained Pre-Fresh Start terms under the legacy PCSPS Classic scheme at the date of taking their benefits.