Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the seafarer medical certificate regulations in order to reduce (a) complications, (b) delays and (c) additional expense for seafarers obtaining medical certificates.
Answered by Robert Courts
The seafarer medical certificate infrastructure and procedure is under continuous assessment by the medical administration team at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) for compliance with the relevant international Conventions, to ensure sound clinical decision making and for provision of a quality service.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when his Department reviewed the regulations governing seafarer medical certificates.
Answered by Robert Courts
The regulations are kept under continuous review, but in particular, implementing the Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Medical Certification) Regulations, 2010, provided the opportunity for a review of the process to ensure compliance with the international Conventions. Further amendments were made in 2018. A statutory post-implementation review is currently underway, due for publication in due course.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the levels of freight traffic passing through the ports of (a) Holyhead, (b) Pembroke dock and (c) Fishguard in (i) 2019 and (ii) 2022.
Answered by Robert Courts
Ports and Port policy in Wales (with the exception of the port of Milford Haven) are devolved and are handled by the Welsh Assembly.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
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 establishing a system of licensing for drivers of jet skis.
Answered by Robert Courts
The riding of personal watercraft for pleasure is, in the majority of cases, conducted both sensibly and safely. Serious incidents involving these craft are rare. However, the Department recognises that, through their actions, a minority of users can endanger other water users and wildlife.
Local and harbour authorities already have significant powers to respond to instances of dangerous or anti-social behaviour in the waters they manage. To provide additional support, the Department has recently consulted on draft legislation to implement additional enforcement measures to enable those who do misuse personal watercraft to be prosecuted. The Department believes this is a proportionate and effective response to the issue.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has undertaken an impact assessment on the effect of Marine Guidance Note 628 on the Welsh fishing fleet.
Answered by Robert Courts
Marine Guidance Note 628 came into effect on 20 July 2020, when SEAFISH Industry Authority ceased to undertake the survey of new build fishing vessels. An internal assessment was conducted on the impact of the changes on all fishing vessels being built in the United Kingdom or for The UK Ship Register, which will have included those built for use in Wales. To ensure a smooth transition, no changes to the technical requirements of the standards were made until a formal review has taken place.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what his timeframe is for bringing forward legislative proposals to bring personal watercraft within the safe use and conduct provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
Answered by Robert Courts
We are continuing to develop the necessary proposals to bring personal watercraft within the safe use and conduct provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. A public consultation seeking comments on the draft legislation will be published once this process has been completed.
Local and harbour authorities already have significant powers to introduce measures to deal with any issues in the waters they manage through byelaws and harbour directions.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussion he has had with her Welsh counterpart on improving the competitiveness of Holyhead port for EU transit traffic relative to European mainland ports.
Answered by Robert Courts
The Port of Holyhead, and utilisation of the ‘land bridge’, remains a competitive option for freight traffic to and from Ireland and the European mainland and is a preference for many freight operations. The land bridge route has significant advantages for hauliers over maritime routes and I am confident that Welsh ports will continue to thrive as we build on the opportunities provided by being an independent trading nation.
Asked by: Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru - Arfon)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has he made of the effect of the covid-19 outbreak on the availability of heavy goods vehicle drivers in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
Prior to the pandemic, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) conducted over 70,000 LGV tests in a normal year with more than 40,000 drivers passing their LGV test each year over the last four years. The shutdown of vocational driver training and testing during the pandemic resulted in the loss of about 30,000 test slots.
Testing has now restarted, and DVSA is making available 3,000 slots per week for vocational tests. This is double the number of LGV tests normally conducted each week before the pandemic.