Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to promote the training of UK seafarer Ratings to shipping company groups that have qualified for the Tonnage Tax scheme.

The Department has always encouraged companies in tonnage tax to employ UK Ratings. In 2015, following proposals from industry in 2014, this position was solidified through a change in regulations which explicitly allowed tonnage tax companies to employ and train three Ratings instead of one Officer cadet. It is the responsibility of both Government and industry, as a whole, to promote these opportunities and further advice can be found in the Department’s tonnage tax guidance.