Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Register of licensed sponsors: workers, published on 7 October 2024, how many seafarers were sponsored to work on ships (a) in UK waters, (b) on international routes from UK ports and (c) in the offshore wind industry.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All those who came to the UK under the concession were stamped at the Border rather than through visa routes and therefore no data was collected.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will take steps to identify the number of non-UK national workers that were brought to work on the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms within UK territorial waters under the Offshore Wind Workers Immigration Rules Concession 2017 before it expired on 30 April 2023.
Answered by Angela Eagle - Minister of State (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
All those who came to the UK under the concession were stamped at the Border rather than through visa routes and therefore no data was collected.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to increase the volume of trade between the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
The Government uses a range of programmes and levers to increase the volume of trade between UK and Sri Lanka. These include the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS), which cuts tariffs and simplifies trading rules for Sri Lankan exporters. The Government also works in Sri Lanka to promote UK trade, investment, trade policy objectives and export finance overseas. This is spearheaded by His Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) to South Asia.
These are complemented by regular Government-to-Government engagement, including the annual UK-Sri Lanka Strategic Dialogue, one of the official mechanisms for discussion of trade-related issues and promoting areas of mutual interest.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether students will be able to enrol on all existing applied general qualifications up to and including the 2026-27 academic year.
Answered by Janet Daby
In July 2024, my Right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a short pause to the defunding of qualifications to enable a review of post-16 qualification reforms at Level 3 and below. The review will begin immediately and will examine the current planned qualification reforms as well as looking at how to ensure young people have high-quality Level 3 pathways.
To allow space for this short review, the department paused the planned removal of 16 to 19 funding from Level 3 qualifications in Construction and the Built Environment, Digital, Education and Early Years, and Health and Science that was due to take place on 31 July 2024. This will mean that, subject to any commercial decisions made by awarding organisations on these qualifications, these qualifications can be funded for 16 to 19 year old students in the 2024/25 academic year. The list of qualifications that will continue to be available until September 2025 is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/qualifications-that-overlap-with-t-levels?_hsenc=p2ANqtz--hLlQbHfWVlKlYVePivcjDOKIc1BLwm20ObP9qiGiSsqjYOBoL7Bc6uRQOeVggoXVSHHjy. If a student is enrolled on a two-year course of study in September 2024, they will be funded for the full length of the qualification.
The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of the short review into qualifications reform at Level 3 and below before the end of 2024.
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 18 March 2024 to Question 18420, if he will have discussions with DP World on the solvency of P&O Ferries Limited.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Secretary of State recently met DP World to discuss P&O Ferries’ commitment to the Seafarers’ Charter and its ambitions for its UK operations. The Secretary of State has not had discussions with DP World on the solvency of P&O Ferries Limited.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many seafarer apprentices have been trained by private shipping companies operating in the UK since 17 March 2022.
Answered by Robert Halfon
There were 50 apprenticeship starts in England on the Seafarer (Deck Rating) apprenticeship standard in the 2021/22 academic year, 40 starts in 2022/23 and 20 starts reported so far, August to October, for 2023/24. The department cannot identify whether the apprenticeship employer is a private shipping company.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether the Insolvency Service has concluded the investigation into P&O Ferries' dismissal of 786 seafarers on 17 March 2022.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Minister without Portfolio
The Insolvency Service’s civil investigation into the circumstances surrounding the redundancies made by P&O Ferries remains ongoing. No further comment or information can be provided at this time.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what representations his Department has received from DP World on maritime and ports policy since 17 March 2022.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The Department has received contact from DP World on the following maritime and port related issues:
From February 2023, DP World met Department officials on the progress of design and implementation of their Modal Shift incentivisation scheme at DP World’s Port of Southampton facility, which Rail officials acknowledged.
In November 2023, DP World wrote to seek an opportunity to discuss DP World’s continued investment in the UK, and reset the relationship with the Government after a period of non engagement with the Department following the P&O Ferries sackings.
More recently, last week the Department was notified of P&O Ferries’ intent to sign the Seafarers’ Charter.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, when he last held discussions with DP World on the operation of cross channel ferry services.
Answered by Guy Opperman
The current Secretary of State and Department for Transport Ministers have held no discussions with DP World on the operation of cross-channel ferry services. Last week, DP World and P&O Ferries notified the Department it is committed to signing the Seafarers’ Charter.
Asked by: Karl Turner (Labour - Kingston upon Hull East)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many new vessels were registered with the UK Ship Register since 30 March 2022.
Answered by Guy Opperman
Based on the UK Ship Register data, from March 2022 to December 2023 (the most recent month for which data is finalised), 96 merchant and pleasure vessels, joined the UK ship Register.