Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking with her international counterparts to help improve (a) pay and (b) conditions for seafarers operating in UK waters.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Improving the pay and working conditions of seafarers is a priority for this government. We are committed to working with our international partners to improve standards.
We have worked closely with the French government to create a minimum wage corridor across the Channel, by bringing the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023 into force alongside equivalent French legislation. Through the Employment Rights Bill, we are amending the Seafarers’ Wages Act to allow us to impose further requirements relating to safety and pay, including tours of duty, and we will be working with our international partners to agree such standards.
We are also taking steps, through the Employment Rights Bill, to ensure that post EU Exit, we have the powers to implement future amendments to the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, as amended and the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007.
The UK has signed Memoranda of Understanding with Spain, Greece and Cyprus agreeing to coordinate on matters relating to the conditions of seafarers. We continue to engage with our international partners on matters relating to seafarer employment on international routes.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the resilience of maritime supply chains.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
While the sector is fully privatised, my Department engages closely with industry to understand maritime operational issues that may affect wider supply chains. Assessment of those wider supply chain impacts sits with other government departments, depending on the supply chain affected.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps she is taking to support skills (a) development and (b) training in the maritime sector.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
DfT remains committed to delivering a maritime workforce, with the skills and people it needs, both now and for the future.
The Maritime Skills Commission, which DfT is part of, assesses the sector’s current and future skills needs. DfT and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency are working with industry to future-proof seafarer training through the Cadet Training and Modernisation Programme and the Ratings Review. This will ensure UK seafarers remain highly skilled, and equipped with the training to handle new vessels, fuels and future technologies.
The £18 million DfT Support for Maritime Training (SMarT) fund supports 50% of the cost of cadet training. DfT is also updating the 2017 SMarT Review and Seafarer Projections report which provides the evidence base and analysis for SMarT and the UK’s need for seafarers over the next decade.
Asked by: Joe Robertson (Conservative - Isle of Wight East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) internal policy reviews, (b) independent reviews, (c) external reviews, (d) taskforces, (e) public consultations, (f) investigations and (g) other reviews their Department launched between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025; what the titles were of those reviews; and how many of those reviews have been (i) completed and (ii) published.
Answered by Mike Kane - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department keeps all of its policies under review, to ensure they are aligned to the Government’s priorities and delivering the best possible outcomes for the public.
It is standard practice for any new administration to review the policies of its predecessors.
Where appropriate, we publish details of our reviews on gov.uk. This includes information on the independent reviews, public consultations and taskforces that have been launched, completed and published between 5 July 2024 and 5 January 2025.