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Written Question
P&O Ferries: Conditions of Employment
Wednesday 23rd March 2022

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to protect workers rights at P&O Ferries.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Secretary of State has written to the chief executive of P&O Ferries to express his anger over their handling of the situation and urge him to engage with the seafarers affected to rectify his decision.

I also spoke to the CEO on Thursday 17 March to express my concern and anger at the manner in which they have treated their loyal, hard working seafarers. I will continue to engage with P&O Ferries throughout this situation and have insisted P&O Ferries support those affected.

The Department for Work and Pensions have reached out to P&O Ferries employees to offer assistance and a number of schemes can be accessed. The Home Office, other transport operators and local employers are also offering support within their respective organisations.


Written Question
P&O Ferries: Conditions of Employment
Tuesday 22nd March 2022

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to protect the jobs of workers for P&O Ferries.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

Whilst the crewing of ships is a commercial decision, the methods used by P&O Ferries in relation to the sacking of the crews of their vessels are intolerable. I am deeply concerned over reports that in moving against workers so rapidly, P&O Ferries may not have followed the correct and legal processes, and my Rt Hon Friend the Transport Secretary has therefore asked the Insolvency Service to look at the notification requirements and to consider if further action is appropriate.

The Transport Secretary has written to P&O Ferries to tell them to negotiate and engage with unions. We will work closely with counterparts in the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure that workers are being signposted to the most relevant support and will continue to explore what other actions can be taken.


Written Question
P&O Ferries: Finance
Tuesday 22nd March 2022

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much public money has been given to P&O Ferries in each of the last five years.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

In 2020, the Government bought approximately £11.4M of capacity from P&O Ferries under the Government-Secured Freight Capacity (GSFC) scheme. P&O Ferries also received £4.4M under the 2020 Public Service Obligation (PSO) scheme for the continuation of specified routes. This was on the basis of audited costs and included no allowance for profit.

In addition, P&O made extensive use of the furlough scheme, with over 1,000 staff on furlough at one point.

Given the considerable support P&O Ferries has received from the taxpayer, the Transport Secretary has instructed officials to review all contracts the Government currently has with both P&O Ferries and DP World.


Written Question
PHI: Canary Wharf
Wednesday 16th March 2022

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what information his Department holds on the ultimate ownership of the yacht, PHI, moored in Canary Wharf, London.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

The Government acted quickly to put shipping sanctions in place in order to hold Russia to account for its attack on Ukraine. We are working closely with partner organisations to ensure that those sanctions are fully and correctly enforced for all ships which may be in scope.


Written Question
Travel Restrictions: South Africa
Thursday 21st October 2021

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason South Africa is on the red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions; and if he will publish the (a) data and (b) evidential basis on which South Africa has been retained on the red list for international covid-19 travel restrictions.

Answered by Robert Courts - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)

South Africa was removed from the red list at 4am on Monday 11 October.

Decisions on red list assignment and associated border measures are taken by Ministers, who take into account Joint Biosecurity Centre risk assessments of countries and territories, alongside wider public health factors. A summary of the Joint Biosecurity Centre methodology is published on gov.uk, alongside key data that supports Ministers' decisions.

Key data used to support decision to remove South Africa from red list on 11 October has been published on gov.uk


Written Question
Electric Scooters: Pilot Schemes
Tuesday 6th July 2021

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the (a) the blind and partially sighted and (b) deaf and hard of hearing community on trials of e-scooters.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme for the trials. This evaluation includes a range of data sources and approaches including data sharing arrangements with operators, surveys, interviews and focus groups with users and non-users and interviews with key local and national stakeholders. A final report will be published in spring 2022. Any future rules for e-scooters may not be exactly the same as the rules in trials, but they will be based on the evidence gathered.

I have met with the Inclusive Transport Stakeholder Group last year, to discuss e-scooters and our local trials. Membership of this group includes representatives from: Age UK, Scope, Alzheimer’s Society, National Autistic Society, Disability Rights UK, DPTAC, Guide Dogs and Leonard Cheshire. Since then I have hosted four e-scooter roundtable discussions - the most recent on 7 June - attended by several groups that represent the interests of disabled people and older people to update them on the progress of the trials and listen to their concerns.


Written Question
Electric Scooters: Pilot Schemes
Tuesday 6th July 2021

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the impact of e-scooter trials on (a) blind and partially sighted and (b) deaf and hard of hearing pedestrians.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The Department has in place a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme for the trials. This evaluation includes a range of data sources and approaches including data sharing arrangements with operators, surveys, interviews and focus groups with users and non-users and interviews with key local and national stakeholders. A final report will be published in spring 2022. Any future rules for e-scooters may not be exactly the same as the rules in trials, but they will be based on the evidence gathered.

I have met with the Inclusive Transport Stakeholder Group last year, to discuss e-scooters and our local trials. Membership of this group includes representatives from: Age UK, Scope, Alzheimer’s Society, National Autistic Society, Disability Rights UK, DPTAC, Guide Dogs and Leonard Cheshire. Since then I have hosted four e-scooter roundtable discussions - the most recent on 7 June - attended by several groups that represent the interests of disabled people and older people to update them on the progress of the trials and listen to their concerns.


Written Question
Railways: Central London
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of High Speed Rail 2 on congestion at central London stations.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The impacts on central London stations (and all London stations including Stratford International) were reviewed as part of the AP3 Euston scheme for the Bill in September 2015. The Transport assessment to this set out the cross-London rail impacts for the design year of 2041 in section 3.5*. It should be noted that Stratford International was not identified as having any substantial change in use at that time.

As neither HS2 Ltd nor the Department believe the impact of HS2 will cause a material change to the underlying long-term usage of the London rail network, the analysis does not currently need updating.

*https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/460749/SES2___AP3_ES_Volume_5_Transport_Assessment__TR-001-000__Part_2.pdf


Written Question
Stratford Station
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential effect of High Speed Rail Two on traffic volumes at Stratford International station.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The impacts on central London stations (and all London stations including Stratford International) were reviewed as part of the AP3 Euston scheme for the Bill in September 2015. The Transport assessment to this set out the cross-London rail impacts for the design year of 2041 in section 3.5*. It should be noted that Stratford International was not identified as having any substantial change in use at that time.

As neither HS2 Ltd nor the Department believe the impact of HS2 will cause a material change to the underlying long-term usage of the London rail network, the analysis does not currently need updating.

*https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/460749/SES2___AP3_ES_Volume_5_Transport_Assessment__TR-001-000__Part_2.pdf


Written Question
Railways: North of England
Monday 19th April 2021

Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of skills shortages in the transport sector on the effectiveness of the Transpennine Rail upgrade.

Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

On TRU, Network Rail has developed an operating model which utilises two separate alliances on the east and west of the Transpennine route. These aim to tap into the best capability from rail and construction to mitigate the risks of skill shortages.