Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What recent assessment she has made of the employment conditions of seafarers at ferry operators who are signatories to the Voluntary Seafarers Charter; and if she will list the ferry operators who have signed the voluntary charter since July 2023 to date.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has received evidence from a number of ferry operators in support of their applications for Verified Charter Status under the Seafarers’ Charter. In due course we will publicly confirm which operators have met the required standard.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC has made a comparative assessment of the cost of alternative models based on permanent civil service staffing with external Managed Service Provider provision.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is using Managed Service Providers (MSP) as part of a balanced approach to help it manage peaks and troughs more effectively, drawing on practices already used across other Government Departments (OGDs). This will allow its permanent colleagues to focus their expertise where it’s most needed. HMRC know customers still need timely support while services continue to digitise, and the current 18‑month Proof of Value phase is providing HMRC with opportunities to learn from this approach, giving it more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers, and at good value for the taxpayer.

HMRC is working jointly with the PCS trade union on an evaluation of the MSP service. The evaluation considers service quality, customer outcomes, productivity and value for money, and will inform future decisions. No outcome is pre‑determined while the evaluation is ongoing.

HMRC’s evaluation will help them determine how they use MSPs to better serve customers. Any decision will be taken through normal business planning and Spending Review processes, taking account of evaluation findings, affordability and operational need.

This is not about replacing HMRC colleagues – no one will be made redundant as a result of this initiative and HMRC headcount is forecast to increase by the end of the Spending Review 2025 period. The current staff provided by MSPs represent additional capacity for 2025/26 and into 2026/27. HMRC faces highly variable demand throughout the year - this is about giving HMRC more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers. This complements its permanent workforce and enables it to scale capacity up and down as needed.

Due to the design of the contract, costs can only be confirmed retrospectively. Comparisons with permanent recruitment and surge staffing currently indicate MSP costs are comparable or better, based on expected outcomes. Overall the projected cost for 12 months was approximately £23m of resourcing spend.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if she will set out the range of possible outcomes of HMRC’s joint evaluation with PCS of the pilot of the Managed Service Provider within the Customer Services Group.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is using Managed Service Providers (MSP) as part of a balanced approach to help it manage peaks and troughs more effectively, drawing on practices already used across other Government Departments (OGDs). This will allow its permanent colleagues to focus their expertise where it’s most needed. HMRC know customers still need timely support while services continue to digitise, and the current 18‑month Proof of Value phase is providing HMRC with opportunities to learn from this approach, giving it more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers, and at good value for the taxpayer.

HMRC is working jointly with the PCS trade union on an evaluation of the MSP service. The evaluation considers service quality, customer outcomes, productivity and value for money, and will inform future decisions. No outcome is pre‑determined while the evaluation is ongoing.

HMRC’s evaluation will help them determine how they use MSPs to better serve customers. Any decision will be taken through normal business planning and Spending Review processes, taking account of evaluation findings, affordability and operational need.

This is not about replacing HMRC colleagues – no one will be made redundant as a result of this initiative and HMRC headcount is forecast to increase by the end of the Spending Review 2025 period. The current staff provided by MSPs represent additional capacity for 2025/26 and into 2026/27. HMRC faces highly variable demand throughout the year - this is about giving HMRC more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers. This complements its permanent workforce and enables it to scale capacity up and down as needed.

Due to the design of the contract, costs can only be confirmed retrospectively. Comparisons with permanent recruitment and surge staffing currently indicate MSP costs are comparable or better, based on expected outcomes. Overall the projected cost for 12 months was approximately £23m of resourcing spend.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether HMRC may discontinue the use of the Managed Service Provider model beyond the initial proof of value trial.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is using Managed Service Providers (MSP) as part of a balanced approach to help it manage peaks and troughs more effectively, drawing on practices already used across other Government Departments (OGDs). This will allow its permanent colleagues to focus their expertise where it’s most needed. HMRC know customers still need timely support while services continue to digitise, and the current 18‑month Proof of Value phase is providing HMRC with opportunities to learn from this approach, giving it more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers, and at good value for the taxpayer.

HMRC is working jointly with the PCS trade union on an evaluation of the MSP service. The evaluation considers service quality, customer outcomes, productivity and value for money, and will inform future decisions. No outcome is pre‑determined while the evaluation is ongoing.

HMRC’s evaluation will help them determine how they use MSPs to better serve customers. Any decision will be taken through normal business planning and Spending Review processes, taking account of evaluation findings, affordability and operational need.

This is not about replacing HMRC colleagues – no one will be made redundant as a result of this initiative and HMRC headcount is forecast to increase by the end of the Spending Review 2025 period. The current staff provided by MSPs represent additional capacity for 2025/26 and into 2026/27. HMRC faces highly variable demand throughout the year - this is about giving HMRC more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers. This complements its permanent workforce and enables it to scale capacity up and down as needed.

Due to the design of the contract, costs can only be confirmed retrospectively. Comparisons with permanent recruitment and surge staffing currently indicate MSP costs are comparable or better, based on expected outcomes. Overall the projected cost for 12 months was approximately £23m of resourcing spend.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what criteria she will use to determine whether the Managed Service Provider model is expanded, modified, or discontinued following the joint evaluation with the PCS Trade Union.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is using Managed Service Providers (MSP) as part of a balanced approach to help it manage peaks and troughs more effectively, drawing on practices already used across other Government Departments (OGDs). This will allow its permanent colleagues to focus their expertise where it’s most needed. HMRC know customers still need timely support while services continue to digitise, and the current 18‑month Proof of Value phase is providing HMRC with opportunities to learn from this approach, giving it more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers, and at good value for the taxpayer.

HMRC is working jointly with the PCS trade union on an evaluation of the MSP service. The evaluation considers service quality, customer outcomes, productivity and value for money, and will inform future decisions. No outcome is pre‑determined while the evaluation is ongoing.

HMRC’s evaluation will help them determine how they use MSPs to better serve customers. Any decision will be taken through normal business planning and Spending Review processes, taking account of evaluation findings, affordability and operational need.

This is not about replacing HMRC colleagues – no one will be made redundant as a result of this initiative and HMRC headcount is forecast to increase by the end of the Spending Review 2025 period. The current staff provided by MSPs represent additional capacity for 2025/26 and into 2026/27. HMRC faces highly variable demand throughout the year - this is about giving HMRC more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers. This complements its permanent workforce and enables it to scale capacity up and down as needed.

Due to the design of the contract, costs can only be confirmed retrospectively. Comparisons with permanent recruitment and surge staffing currently indicate MSP costs are comparable or better, based on expected outcomes. Overall the projected cost for 12 months was approximately £23m of resourcing spend.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment HMRC has made of the long term operational need for a Managed Service Provider within the Customer Services Group beyond the current proof of value trial.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

HMRC is using Managed Service Providers (MSP) as part of a balanced approach to help it manage peaks and troughs more effectively, drawing on practices already used across other Government Departments (OGDs). This will allow its permanent colleagues to focus their expertise where it’s most needed. HMRC know customers still need timely support while services continue to digitise, and the current 18‑month Proof of Value phase is providing HMRC with opportunities to learn from this approach, giving it more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers, and at good value for the taxpayer.

HMRC is working jointly with the PCS trade union on an evaluation of the MSP service. The evaluation considers service quality, customer outcomes, productivity and value for money, and will inform future decisions. No outcome is pre‑determined while the evaluation is ongoing.

HMRC’s evaluation will help them determine how they use MSPs to better serve customers. Any decision will be taken through normal business planning and Spending Review processes, taking account of evaluation findings, affordability and operational need.

This is not about replacing HMRC colleagues – no one will be made redundant as a result of this initiative and HMRC headcount is forecast to increase by the end of the Spending Review 2025 period. The current staff provided by MSPs represent additional capacity for 2025/26 and into 2026/27. HMRC faces highly variable demand throughout the year - this is about giving HMRC more flexibility to improve the service it gives customers. This complements its permanent workforce and enables it to scale capacity up and down as needed.

Due to the design of the contract, costs can only be confirmed retrospectively. Comparisons with permanent recruitment and surge staffing currently indicate MSP costs are comparable or better, based on expected outcomes. Overall the projected cost for 12 months was approximately £23m of resourcing spend.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, What her policy is on the use of vessels registered on Flags of Convenience by contractors delivering the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Civil Hydrography Programme.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The MCA’s UK CHP Survey Specification details the Civil Hydrography Programme (CHP)-specific requirements for conducting hydrographic surveys undertaken on behalf of the MCA, in order to deliver UK requirements and services. The Survey Specification is used in conjunction with the relevant Hydrographic Instruction in order to fully detail the requirement of the survey(s).

All vessels employed under the current CHP contracts are UK Flagged, and on the ‘White List’, a list of countries assessed by the International Maritime Organisation as properly implementing the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) 1978 (as amended) Convention.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent estimate her Department has made of the number of seafarers in the UK’s short sea international ferry sector that are paid an hourly wage that is (a) broadly equivalent to or (b) above the National Minimum Wage.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department has not made any such estimate. The Seafarers' Wages Act 2023 makes payment of the equivalent of National Minimum Wage a condition of port access for operators of services calling at a UK port at least 120 times a year. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for enforcement of this legislation and conducts in-person engagement and robust inspection activities with ports and operators to ensure compliance and provide regulatory assurance.

Whilst the Department cannot give exact figures, an impact assessment was published for the Act, which makes some assumptions about the number of seafarers on board different vessel types per journey in order to estimate costs to businesses, but it does not make any estimates of the total number of seafarers that would be paid the National Minimum Wage equivalent (see https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62e2aa8ed3bf7f75af0923d5/seafarers-wages-impact-assessment.pdf ).

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, With reference to the Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2025 statistics published on 25th February 2025, what assessment she has made of the sources of growth in seafarer employment in the UK shipping industry in 2024-25.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department remains committed to increasing the number of UK resident seafarer ratings. Work includes implementing the recommendations from the Ratings Review, modernising training and considering the findings of the recently published SMarT Review and Seafarer Projections Report.

The increased numbers of seafarers active at sea noted in the Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2025 statistics has been driven primarily by growth among Ratings and Uncertificated Officers. Officials will continue to review where there are opportunities to grow ratings careers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2025 statistics published on 25 February 2025, what steps she is taking to increase the number of UK resident seafarer Ratings employed in the UK shipping industry.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department remains committed to increasing the number of UK resident seafarer ratings. Work includes implementing the recommendations from the Ratings Review, modernising training and considering the findings of the recently published SMarT Review and Seafarer Projections Report.

The increased numbers of seafarers active at sea noted in the Seafarers in the UK Shipping Industry: 2025 statistics has been driven primarily by growth among Ratings and Uncertificated Officers. Officials will continue to review where there are opportunities to grow ratings careers.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussion she has had with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the enforcement of the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020 for seafarers working (a) in UK territorial waters and (b) on vessels working between an offshore oil and gas installation and a UK port.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport maintains regular and ongoing engagement with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) through the Regulatory Compliance Investigations Team regarding the implementation, compliance, and enforcement of legislation relating to seafarer pay. This covers the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023, the Seafarers’ Wages Regulations 2024, and the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020.This engagement has featured recent updates from the MCA to the Department on its enforcement approach and compliance activity undertaken so far, which have informed departmental oversight of how the legislation is being implemented across the sector, and how operators and harbour authorities are responding to their statutory responsibilities. The Department and the MCA also engage on enforcement activity covering seafarers working in UK territorial waters and, where applicable, on vessels operating between offshore oil and gas installations and UK ports. This ensures a consistent and effective enforcement framework across the relevant statutory regimes.

The Department for Business and Trade have recently published the Fair Work Agency Enforcement Policy Statement, confirming that it is responsible for enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, including the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions she has had with (a) the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, (b) shipowner representatives and (c) port owners on compliance with the Seafarers Wages Regulations 2024 amongst operators of ro-ro ferries from UK ports.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

The Department for Transport maintains regular and ongoing engagement with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) through the Regulatory Compliance Investigations Team regarding the implementation, compliance, and enforcement of legislation relating to seafarer pay. This covers the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023, the Seafarers’ Wages Regulations 2024, and the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020.This engagement has featured recent updates from the MCA to the Department on its enforcement approach and compliance activity undertaken so far, which have informed departmental oversight of how the legislation is being implemented across the sector, and how operators and harbour authorities are responding to their statutory responsibilities. The Department and the MCA also engage on enforcement activity covering seafarers working in UK territorial waters and, where applicable, on vessels operating between offshore oil and gas installations and UK ports. This ensures a consistent and effective enforcement framework across the relevant statutory regimes.

The Department for Business and Trade have recently published the Fair Work Agency Enforcement Policy Statement, confirming that it is responsible for enforcement of the National Minimum Wage, including the National Minimum Wage (Offshore Employment) (Amendment) Order 2020.

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