Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of the effect on the number of vessels qualifying for the tonnage tax scheme in (a) 2019-20 and (b) 2020-21 of the UK Ship Register’s decision to expand its criteria for shipowner eligibility; and if he will make a statement.

HMRC list a number of relevant commercial features in their guidance on whether ship operators can qualify for UK Tonnage Tax. Although the UK flag is one of these, it is not a necessary feature and is unlikely to have a critical effect on eligibility. Changes to the UK Ship Register were not made with eligibility for Tonnage Tax in mind.