Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the sea-going status is of Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels; and which of those ships are (a) operationally available, (b) undergoing maintenance or a refit and (c) temporarily unavailable due to mechanical problems.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The information requested is as follows and is accurate as of 3 May 2023. ‘Available’ is defined as ships not undergoing deep maintenance.
Class | Not Available | Available | Total |
RFA Tide Class Tanker | 1 | 3 | 4 |
RFA Wave Class Tanker | 2 | 0 | 2 |
RFA Landing Ship Docks | 0 | 3 | 3 |
RFA Amphibious Support Ship | 0 | 1 | 1 |
RFA Fort Class Multi-Purpose Auxiliary | 0 | 1 | 1 |
The normal operating cycle of every ship involves them entering different readiness levels depending on their programmes, periods of refit and Departmental planning requirements. To maintain operational security, these figures cannot be broken down into any further level of detail.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) duration and (b) value of vessel maintenance contracts were signed by the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in each year since 2010.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The table below sets out the total annual expenditure, by financial year, of vessel maintenance/refits including unscheduled repair costs to Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels between 2010 and 2022.
Financial Year | Repair costs (including unscheduled repairs) (£million) | Refit cost (£million) |
2010-11 | 1.829 | 38.717 |
2011-12 | 1.283 | 18.853 |
2012-13 | 1.770 | 75.459 |
2013-14 | 2.055 | 80.820 |
2014-15 | 12.994 | 88.887 |
2015-16 | 7.617 | 59.941 |
2016-17 | 8.704 | 24.229 |
2017-18 | 8.350 | 81.379 |
2018-19 | 4.830 | 49.609 |
2019-20 | 7.543 | 64.570 |
2020-21 | 9.760 | 60.513 |
2021-22 | 11.924 | 68.602 |
A breakdown of repair costs into those that were scheduled and unscheduled could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
Royal Fleet Auxiliary managed vessels are presently maintained under the Future In-Service Support (FISS) agreement. These contracts were signed in 2018, have a duration of 10 years, are worth approximately £1.1 billion and are expected to deliver around £115 million of savings. Prior to the signature of the FISS agreement, RFA managed vessels were managed under a set of five In-Service Support contracts. These contracts were awarded in 2008 and renewed in 2012 for a further five-year period at an additional cost of £349 million.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether she has had recent discussions with trade unions on (a) the reasons for which bread prices have risen in the UK and (b) the security of supply chains in that sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food price inflation is being driven by a combination of factors including increased global commodity prices and farm input costs. For food manufacturers production costs have also increased reflecting a tight labour market, increasing wages, energy price increases, fuel and packaging materials costs.
Regarding bread prices, the largest upward effect in the annual CPIH rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the year to March 2023 (19.2%) came from the bread and cereals class increasing by 19.4% in a year, although the more recent drivers have been from increases in the price of biscuits and cakes within that class.
To ensure a consistent supply of food, the UK relies both on its own production and on imports. Sourcing food and its ingredients from domestic and global markets contributes to food resilience. Diverse supply chains and global trade in agri-food commodities increases availability and consumer choice
Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to food supply chains.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment she has made of (a) the reasons for which bread prices have risen in the UK and (b) the implications for the (i) security and (ii) sustainability of supply chains of those rises in bread prices.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Food price inflation is being driven by a combination of factors including increased global commodity prices and farm input costs. For food manufacturers production costs have also increased reflecting a tight labour market, increasing wages, energy price increases, fuel and packaging materials costs. Regarding bread prices, the largest upward effect in the annual CPIH rate for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the year to March 2023 (19.2%) came from the bread and cereals class increasing by 19.4% in a year, although the more recent drivers have been from increases in the price of biscuits and cakes within that class.
To ensure a consistent supply of food, the UK relies both on its own production and on imports. Sourcing food and its ingredients from domestic and global markets contributes to food resilience. Diverse supply chains and global trade in agri-food commodities increases availability and consumer choice.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department is taking steps to review the supply chain of the (a) bread and (b) other baked products sector.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra has well established ways of working with the industry and across Government to monitor risks that may arise. This includes extensive, regular and ongoing engagement in preparedness for, and response to, issues with the potential to cause disruption to the food supply chain including with bread and baked products.
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain, as demonstrated throughout the Covid-19 response. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption.
Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources, strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes.
Recognising the importance of food security, in the Agriculture Act 2020, the Government made a commitment to produce an assessment of our food security at least once every three years. The first UK Food Security Report was published in December 2021.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether her Department has held recent discussions with trade union representatives on food security.
Answered by Mark Spencer - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We have recently not held discussions with trade union representatives on food security but do engage regularly with trade bodies such as the National Farmers Union and Food and Drink Federation on food security and other issues.
We continue to work closely with external partners across the food supply industry to understand, assess and monitor the food and drink supply. Defra works closely with the major food retailers to understand consumer behaviour and if/how this is impacted by pressures on the supply chain.
The UK has a highly resilient food supply chain. It is well equipped to deal with situations with the potential to cause disruption. Our high degree of food security is built on supply from diverse sources; strong domestic production as well as imports through stable trade routes. Defra has a collaborative relationship with industry which allows us to effectively respond to disruption, should it occur.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of fixing the interest rate used to determine payments under the Support for Mortgage Interest scheme to a set amount above the Bank of England Base Rate to better reflect the impact on those in receipt of SMI.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The interest rate we pay for SMI is based on the Bank of England published average mortgage rate. We do not align payment to the base rate because this would lead to uncertainty for both borrower and lender as well as increasing the administrative burden.
An increase to the rate paid through the SMI scheme was triggered on Wednesday 29th March 2023.This rate increased from 2.09% to 2.65% and will be implemented on 10th May 2023. Any further changes to the standard interest rate will only occur when the Bank of England average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the rate in payment.
We currently have no plans to amend the calculation of SMI. We have selected the Bank of England’s published average rate because it is the average interest rate that applies to outstanding mortgages, including fixed and variable mortgages. The Bank of England data is the most reliable as it is based on information that covers over 75% of all banks and building societies’ mortgage business. It is also updated on a regular (monthly) basis.
If we were to base the rate we pay on the Bank of England Base rate, we would pay over and above the average interest rate paid by fixed rate mortgage holders. Conversely, the rate would be too low when the base rate is set at a low level such as the 0.1 base rate between March 2020 and December 2021.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of the Bank of England Base Rate increases on the Support for Mortgage Interest Scheme (SMI); and whether he plans to uprate the interest rate of 2.09 per cent on which the SMI payments are calculated.
Answered by Mims Davies - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The interest rate we pay for SMI is based on the Bank of England published average mortgage rate. We do not align payment to the base rate because this would lead to uncertainty for both borrower and lender as well as increasing the administrative burden.
An increase to the rate paid through the SMI scheme was triggered on Wednesday 29th March 2023.This rate increased from 2.09% to 2.65% and will be implemented on 10th May 2023. Any further changes to the standard interest rate will only occur when the Bank of England average mortgage rate differs by 0.5 percentage points or more from the rate in payment.
We currently have no plans to amend the calculation of SMI. We have selected the Bank of England’s published average rate because it is the average interest rate that applies to outstanding mortgages, including fixed and variable mortgages. The Bank of England data is the most reliable as it is based on information that covers over 75% of all banks and building societies’ mortgage business. It is also updated on a regular (monthly) basis.
If we were to base the rate we pay on the Bank of England Base rate, we would pay over and above the average interest rate paid by fixed rate mortgage holders. Conversely, the rate would be too low when the base rate is set at a low level such as the 0.1 base rate between March 2020 and December 2021.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 20 January 2023 to Question 108424 on Pets: Travel, what progress she has made in negotiations with the European Commission on awarding Great Britain Part 1 listed status to enable pet owners to travel outside the UK with fewer restrictions.
Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
We are continuing to engage with the European Commission on awarding Great Britain 'Part 1' listed status and recognition of the UK's tapeworm-free status.
Asked by: Ian Mearns (Labour - Gateshead)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date his Department opened formal negotiations with Topaz Marine over the purchase of MV Topaz Tangaroa; and if he will list the other vessels considered for carrying out the subsea security function.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Extensive market engagement and analysis was conducted to determine the suitability of available vessels to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Defence. It was concluded that the MV Topaz Tangaroa was the only ship capable of fully meeting those requirements. Following this determination, an invitation to negotiate was issued to the owner of the MV Topaz Tangaroa on 5 August 2022. I am unable to provide details of the other vessels considered as to do so could be prejudicial to the commercial interests of third parties.