Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the potential effect of anticipated levels of rail freight activity at (a) Felixstowe and (b) Tilbury port in the next year will have on (i) rail and (ii) dock workers at those ports.

This is a commercial matter for the logistics sector. I expect that workers at these private sector ports and in the private rail freight operating companies will deal with rail freight activity as in the normal course of business. I do not intend to undertake any special assessment.