Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether the Humber Freeport bid included commitments to maintain existing collective bargaining agreements with trade unions organising seafarers working on merchant ships working from Hull port; and if he will place a copy of that bid in the Library.

The government is pleased to have announced the locations of 8 new English Freeports at Budget. The Ministry for Housing, Communities & Local Government will shortly publish the rationale behind the selection of these Freeport locations according to the process laid out in the Prospectus.

Successful bidders will be confirmed subject to a business case review, agreement of governance arrangements, and the fulfilment of the appropriate authorisations.

Freeports are not deregulatory and the government will ensure that the UK’s high standards with respect to workers’ rights will not be compromised.