Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has targets for the use of UK steel on the HS2 projects throughout the project’s lifetime.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson
There is no formal target for the use of UK steel on HS2. HS2 Ltd are working with the UK steel industry to ensure it is engaged, informed and prepared to seize the contract opportunities that will be generated by the construction of HS2.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to make dashboard cameras in motor vehicles mandatory.
Answered by Baroness Maclean of Redditch
The use of dashcam footage is important in tackling unsafe driving behaviour. The police accept and assess footage captured by witnesses using dashcams and sent to them in relation to a number of road traffic offences, such as using a hand-held mobile phone while driving.
The natural proliferation of dashcams has helped support enforcement; the Government has no plans to make dashcams mandatory.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps his Department is taking to increase rates of pay for UK seafarers working on vessels flying flags of convenience in British waters to at least the UK minimum wage.
Answered by Robert Courts
The recent amendments to National Minimum Wage legislation, which came into force on October 1, 2020, extended its scope and now applies to all domestic operations in the UK territorial waters and to offshore activity in the UK continental shelf. The application of these new amendments is not dependant on the flag state of the vessel or the nationality of its crew.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what volume of international road freight has been moved on roll-on roll-off ferries from (a) Dover, (b) Hull, (c) Holyhead and (d) Liverpool ports in each month since 1 January 2020 to date.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
The Department does not collect data on roll-on roll-off cargo on a monthly basis. Data on port freight by route and type of cargo is published in port freight annual statistics. Annual port freight statistics for 2020 will be published in Summer 2021.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to protect UK seafarers employed by ferry companies in receipt of the Critical Freight Grant.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
I recognise how important UK seafarers are to the maritime sector and I remain committed to supporting and protecting them. Funding via the Critical Freight Grants has been provided to maintain the flow of critical goods on 16 RoRo freight routes, with contracts given to 6 operators across the 16 routes. The funding is in place to maintain capacity on specific routes, it is not about supporting specific operators. We will continue to monitor these and all other freight routes so that critical goods continue to come into the UK.
To support seafarers, the Government has made available an unprecedented financial support package, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. 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. There scheme is available for both UK and foreign seafarers who work for firms that fulfil the two key eligibility requirements. On the 12th May the Chancellor announced that the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended further and will now remain open until the end of October and so should continue to aid seafarers.
Asked by: Mick Whitley (Labour - Birkenhead)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the financial viability of Holyhead-Dublin roll-on roll-off ferry services.
Answered by Kelly Tolhurst
We have worked closely with the Welsh Government to review the viability of the Holyhead-Dublin ferry route, and agree that capacity on this route continues to meet the levels of demand to keep goods moving.
We will continue to monitor the situation, as is the case on all freight routes, and will work with the Welsh Government should circumstances on the route change.