Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 51906 on Ferries: Freight, what recent estimate has made of the value of the Public Service Obligation agreements in place with operators on ferry routes from (a) Hull, (b) Dover and (c) other eligible routes from a UK port.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Payments on PSO routes are calculated using actual revenues each week, so final payments will depend on performance of both the freight and passenger market. Results for weeks to date are currently being assessed and final award values for those weeks are not yet known; details of the actual subsidy amounts paid will be published in due course.
The estimated values of the PSO Agreements at the point of contract award were published in the Official Journal of the European Union and were as follows:
Route | Operator | Estimated value at contract award |
Portsmouth-Santander | Brittany Ferries | £1,508,265 |
Portsmouth-Cherbourg | Brittany Ferries | £1,042,551 |
Poole-Bilbao | Brittany Ferries | £370,395 |
Dover-Dunkerque | DFDS | £3,068,766 |
Dover-Calais | DFDS | £3,770,838 |
Folkestone-Coquelles | Eurotunnel | £3,431,863 |
Dover-Calais | P&O | £1,173,915 |
Cairnryan-Larne | P&O | £3,581,685 |
Tilbury-Zeebrugge | P&O | £2,053,206 |
Teesport-Europoort | P&O | £1,098,369 |
Hull-Europoort | P&O | £3,504,249 * |
Hull-Zeebrugge | P&O | £1,842,210 |
Heysham-Warrenpoint | Seatruck | £849,159 |
Rotterdam-Killingholme | Stena | £2,018,547 |
Cairnryan-Belfast | Stena | £1,077,597 |
Harwich-Rotterdam | Stena | £1,822,365 |
Harwich-Hoek van Holland | Stena | £1,608,003 |
* The estimate for Hull-Europoort was later revised to £4,779,369.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2020 to Question 51906 on P&O Ferries, how much recognised revenue P&O Ferries has received from roll-on roll-off ferry services operated under Public Service Agreements with his Department from (a) Hull, (b) Dover, (c) Tilbury, (d) Teesport, (e) Cairnryan and (f) Larne ports from 11 May 2020 to date.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department holds information on revenues received, but will not release it as it is commercially sensitive and confidential.
Details of subsidy amounts paid out under the PSO Agreements will be published in due course.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with representatives from the UK Chamber of Shipping’s Ferry Recovery Group on P&O Ferries’ plans for redundancies of full time seafarers in (a) Hull and (b) Dover.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Chamber of Shipping’s Ferry Recovery Group is an industry forum and does not have government participation. I and Senior Officials have had individual and group calls with a number of ferry operators and have regular dialogue with the UK Chamber of Shipping where views from the Ferry Recovery Group can be conveyed.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an estimate of the number of P&O Ferries employees on furlough who will be made redundant by the end of June 2020; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
My Department’s officials and I have been working closely with operators across the maritime sector including P&O Ferries, to understand the impacts and challenges they face from the global COVID-19 crisis. The Department recognises the contribution UK seafarers make to the economy and we remain committed to supporting them.
The government has announced an unprecedented package of financial measures to support businesses and employees through the Covid-19 pandemic, worth £350 billion. This package includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) which will continue until the end of October.
On May 11 P&O issued notice that a 45-day statutory consultation period would commence over plans to make 1,100 staff redundant. The consultation covers all staff who work for P&O both on shore and in seafaring roles regardless of whether they are currently furloughed or not.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on the effect on crewing levels on roll-on roll-off ferries operated from (a) Hull and (b) Dover of P&O Ferries' announcement of 11 May 2020 on redundancies among (i) ratings and (ii) officers on those routes.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Crewing levels on all ships, including passenger ferries, are contained in the ship’s safe manning document as issued by the flag-State maritime administration in line with international principles.
The P&O ferries operating from (a) Hull and (b) Dover are Cypriot flagged and it is for the Cyprus Maritime Administration to determine the minimum safe manning levels.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s role as the port-State is to monitor the safe operation of these vessels through inspections.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the Answer of 22 May 2020 to Question 46622, if he will list the value of the contracts awarded to P&O Ferries on routes from the port of Hull; and when he plans to provide the next update on the value of contracts with operators on all 16 routes.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Two Public Service Obligation (PSO) Agreements were awarded to P&O Ferries on routes from the Port of Hull. The value of the awards will depend on actual revenues and service level requirements during operation. The estimated value of these PSO Agreements at the point of contract award have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and are as follows:
PSO Agreement between Hull and Europoort Rotterdam: £3,504,249, – this has since been revised to £4,779,369.
PSO Agreement between Hull and Zeebrugge: £1,842,210
Further updates on the value of these PSO Agreements will be provided in due course.
There is no permissible revenue level defined in the Public Service Obligation (PSO) Agreements awarded to P&O Ferries on routes from the Port of Hull. All revenues paid or payable to the operator in connection with its operation of a route are considered as “Recognised Revenues” for the purposes of the PSO Agreements.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the permissible revenue levels are on the designated freight routes from the port of Hull being operated by P&O Ferries under a Public Service Obligation.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
Two Public Service Obligation (PSO) Agreements were awarded to P&O Ferries on routes from the Port of Hull. The value of the awards will depend on actual revenues and service level requirements during operation. The estimated value of these PSO Agreements at the point of contract award have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union and are as follows:
PSO Agreement between Hull and Europoort Rotterdam: £3,504,249, – this has since been revised to £4,779,369.
PSO Agreement between Hull and Zeebrugge: £1,842,210
Further updates on the value of these PSO Agreements will be provided in due course.
There is no permissible revenue level defined in the Public Service Obligation (PSO) Agreements awarded to P&O Ferries on routes from the Port of Hull. All revenues paid or payable to the operator in connection with its operation of a route are considered as “Recognised Revenues” for the purposes of the PSO Agreements.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what external advice his Department received in designing the Public Service Obligations under which ferry operators are providing freight capacity on designated routes for nine-weeks from 11 May 2020.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department for Transport engaged external experts for legal, technical and financial advice on the design of the Public Service Obligation Agreements.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect on maritime employment of proposals by P&O Ferries proposals to make 160 seafarers on the (a) Pride of York and (b) Pride of Hull roll-on roll-off passenger ferries between Hull and Zeebrugge and Hull and Rotterdam redundant.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Secretary of State for Transport maintains a close interest in the issues impacting UK seafarers and ferry operations. However, no such assessment has been made on those specific routes.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps the Government is taking to protect workers in the (a) shipping and (b) ports sectors from redundancy during the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
To support maritime businesses and seafarer jobs that have been impacted by the outbreak of Covid-19, the Government has made available a series of unprecedented financial support packages, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS). Any employer with a UK bank account and PAYE scheme is eligible for a grant to cover 80% of the wages of its employees, up to £2500 per month.