Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of (a) the amount of available storage space for imported goods at UK ports and (b) how that compares to (a) each of the previous five years and (b) first six months of 2021.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
UK ports have invested heavily over the last decade to develop facilities capable of handling the largest ships, many cargo types, and the equipment to handle these efficiently. The UK is also home to many global port groups and has attracted significant inward investment. As such the UK is generally well placed in terms of capability and capacity in normal circumstances.
The current circumstances for the shipping and freight sectors are exceptional and unprecedented. There is increased international demand and disruption due to the pandemic, which combined with the current peak season is seeing operational difficulties on a global level. In the UK these effects are being exacerbated by wider supply chain challenges.
The capacity, volume, and operational factors of storage space at UK ports is not routinely monitored by Government and is a commercial matter for ports and their partners. However, this Department has maintained close engagement with the sector over the last year and through the pandemic to understand their operational pressures. The lessons learned by the sector at the end of 2020 have meant that the ongoing international issues have been handled with more stability throughout this year and peak period approached in a better position, but wider factors have negated that benefit.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of port infrastructure in the UK.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
UK ports have invested heavily over the last decade to develop facilities capable of handling the largest ships, many cargo types, and the equipment to handle these efficiently. The UK is also home to many global port groups and has attracted significant inward investment. As such the UK is generally well placed in terms of capability and capacity in normal circumstances.
The current circumstances for the shipping and freight sectors are exceptional and unprecedented. There is increased international demand and disruption due to the pandemic, which combined with the current peak season is seeing operational difficulties on a global level. In the UK these effects are being exacerbated by wider supply chain challenges.
The capacity, volume, and operational factors of storage space at UK ports is not routinely monitored by Government and is a commercial matter for ports and their partners. However, this Department has maintained close engagement with the sector over the last year and through the pandemic to understand their operational pressures. The lessons learned by the sector at the end of 2020 have meant that the ongoing international issues have been handled with more stability throughout this year and peak period approached in a better position, but wider factors have negated that benefit.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what lessons his Department has learnt from the delays at ports in December 2020.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
UK ports have invested heavily over the last decade to develop facilities capable of handling the largest ships, many cargo types, and the equipment to handle these efficiently. The UK is also home to many global port groups and has attracted significant inward investment. As such the UK is generally well placed in terms of capability and capacity in normal circumstances.
The current circumstances for the shipping and freight sectors are exceptional and unprecedented. There is increased international demand and disruption due to the pandemic, which combined with the current peak season is seeing operational difficulties on a global level. In the UK these effects are being exacerbated by wider supply chain challenges.
The capacity, volume, and operational factors of storage space at UK ports is not routinely monitored by Government and is a commercial matter for ports and their partners. However, this Department has maintained close engagement with the sector over the last year and through the pandemic to understand their operational pressures. The lessons learned by the sector at the end of 2020 have meant that the ongoing international issues have been handled with more stability throughout this year and peak period approached in a better position, but wider factors have negated that benefit.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to his oral contribution of 4 November 2021, Official Report, Column 1047, what the basis is for his statement that the GMB union supports (a) stopping people from flying, or allowing them to go on holiday only once every five years and (b) preventing people from using their cars.
Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State mis-spoke during Transport Questions. What he meant to say was that the plan that Labour is proposing - to stop people from flying, or to allow them to go on holiday only once every five years, and to prevent them from using their cars - is opposed by the GMB union, who usually support them.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, on how many days the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency application website has (a) crashed and (b) been unable to accept applications over the last 12 months.
Answered by Trudy Harrison
The information is not available in the format requested. The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s combined electronic services were available for 99.96 per cent of the time against a target of 99.5 per cent between January and September 2021.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many people have been working on applications to the DVLA in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and social distancing measures coupled with industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has led to delays for customers who make paper applications. There are currently around 1.5m paper applications awaiting processing at the DVLA. It is important to note that in normal circumstances, given that the DVLA receives around 300,000 items of mail each week, there are usually around 400,000 items awaiting processing. It is estimated that one third of the current backlog is directly attributable to the PCS strike action. No figures are available for the number of applications to the DVLA that have been lost.
The DVLA continues to look into opportunities to reduce the backlog and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff to work predominantly on driver’s medical casework and queries. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.
It is not possible to provide figures for the number of people working on applications as most DVLA operational roles require staff members to carry out a range of tasks, which includes processing applications. The number of people working at the DVLA also fluctuates daily because of factors including leave, working patterns and other absences.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications there are in the backlog of applications to the DVLA.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and social distancing measures coupled with industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has led to delays for customers who make paper applications. There are currently around 1.5m paper applications awaiting processing at the DVLA. It is important to note that in normal circumstances, given that the DVLA receives around 300,000 items of mail each week, there are usually around 400,000 items awaiting processing. It is estimated that one third of the current backlog is directly attributable to the PCS strike action. No figures are available for the number of applications to the DVLA that have been lost.
The DVLA continues to look into opportunities to reduce the backlog and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff to work predominantly on driver’s medical casework and queries. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.
It is not possible to provide figures for the number of people working on applications as most DVLA operational roles require staff members to carry out a range of tasks, which includes processing applications. The number of people working at the DVLA also fluctuates daily because of factors including leave, working patterns and other absences.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many applications to the DVLA have been lost by the DVLA in the last 12 months.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
The quickest and easiest way to make an application to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is by using its extensive suite of online services. There are no delays in successful online applications and customers should receive their documents within a few days.
However, many people still choose or have to make a paper application. The DVLA receives around 60,000 items of mail every day and social distancing measures coupled with industrial action by members of the Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union has led to delays for customers who make paper applications. There are currently around 1.5m paper applications awaiting processing at the DVLA. It is important to note that in normal circumstances, given that the DVLA receives around 300,000 items of mail each week, there are usually around 400,000 items awaiting processing. It is estimated that one third of the current backlog is directly attributable to the PCS strike action. No figures are available for the number of applications to the DVLA that have been lost.
The DVLA continues to look into opportunities to reduce the backlog and has been developing additional new online services and recruiting additional staff. The DVLA is exploring the possibility of securing extra office space to house more staff to work predominantly on driver’s medical casework and queries. This will be surge capacity accommodation and resource to help reduce backlogs while providing future resilience and business continuity.
It is not possible to provide figures for the number of people working on applications as most DVLA operational roles require staff members to carry out a range of tasks, which includes processing applications. The number of people working at the DVLA also fluctuates daily because of factors including leave, working patterns and other absences.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 6 September 2021 to Question 36717 on Rolling Stock: Procurement, what authority was responsible for ensuring that train operating companies met the (a) financial, (b) performance and (c) other terms of their rail franchise agreements between 2010 and 2021.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
The Department for Transport is responsible for the management of rail contracts, including ensuring that financial, operational and other terms are adhered to.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West and Royton)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 July 2021 to Question 31501, what authority was responsible for regulating train operating companies from 2010 to 2021.
Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
From 2010 to 2021 The independent regulator, the Office of Rail and Road (ORR), formerly named the Office of Rail Regulation until April 2015, was responsible for ensuring that train operating companies complied with health and safety law, competition and consumer law, and the terms of their licences.