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Written Question
Prison Accommodation
Monday 20th November 2023

Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to learn from the experience of other countries in managing fluctuations in prisoner numbers.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are not the first country to face acute pressures in prison capacity. As a matter of course, the MoJ engages with international partners at both a ministerial and official level. Recently, we had the opportunity to meet with senior officials from New York City’s Department of Corrections to understand how they are addressing their own capacity challenges. This year, we have also strengthened relationships with countries across Europe and the rest of the world to explore innovations in respective prison estates, technology and legislation. This approach will continue moving forward.

My officials are also engaging in regular discussions with international partners to share information on managing high prison capacity.

We have announced that we will legislate as part of the Criminal Justice Bill to create the powers necessary to transfer prisoners overseas for the purposes of detaining them in a rented prison in future. This decision was informed by consideration of other countries, including the experience of Norway renting prison space from the Netherlands from 2015-2018 to manage an acute rise in prison population. Belgium has also previously rented prison spaces from the Netherlands to alleviate pressure on their prison capacity.

We continue to look at every measure to best manage fluctuations in prison numbers including observing best practice in foreign countries.


Written Question
Prison Accommodation
Monday 20th November 2023

Asked by: Andrea Jenkyns (Conservative - Morley and Outwood)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of renting prison places overseas to help manage fluctuations in prisoner numbers.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Renting prison spaces overseas has the potential to augment existing prison capacity and provide us with the prison spaces we need to manage our prison population, continue cracking down on crime, and protect the British public from the worst offenders. We are introducing powers that will allow the Government to deliver prison rental agreements with other countries in the Criminal Justice Bill. In doing so, we are following in the footsteps of countries like Norway and Belgium.

This is alongside ongoing work to build 20,000 modern rehabilitative prison spaces - the biggest prison building programme since the Victorian Era – and our intention to invest a further £400m in building even more.


Written Question
UK Border Force: Deployment
Wednesday 25th October 2023

Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK Border Force staff have been posted to (a) Belgium, (b) Germany, (c) the Netherlands and (d) France in each of the last five years.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

For security reasons, the Home Office does not provide figures of how many staff have worked or are currently working at overseas deployments.

The Home Office continues to ensure appropriate overseas staff resourcing deployments are maintained.


Written Question
Waste: Exports
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if she will list the quantities of waste exported in (a) 2020, (b) 2021 and (c) 2022, broken down by receiving country.

Answered by Rebecca Pow - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

The top ten waste types exported from the UK in 2020, 2021 and 2022, alongside the top ten destinations for those waste types, are represented in the three tables below. The information requested is not held centrally and to obtain it in full would incur disproportionate costs.

This dataset has been obtained from information provided by exporters to His Majesty's Revenue and Customs. This data is publicly available at https://www.uktradeinfo.com/ .

2020

Rank

Waste type

Waste exported (KT)

Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %)

1

Iron & steel waste and scrap

6,826

Turkey (2,394KT; 35.1%); Pakistan (997KT; 14.6%); Egypt (742KT; 10.9%); Bangladesh (205KT; 3.0%); Saudi Arabia (173KT; 2.5%)

2

Paper and paperboard waste

3,780

India (979KT; 22.8%); Thailand (561KT; 13.0%); Turkey (491KT; 11.4%); Netherlands (474KT; 11.0%); Malaysia (401KT; 9.3%)

3

Plastic waste and scrap

537

Turkey (210KT; 39.0%); Malaysia (65KT; 12.2%); Poland (38KT; 7.0%); Netherlands (38KT; 7.0%); Spain (31KT; 5.8%)

4

Aluminium waste and scrap

436

India (122KT;27.8%); China (76KT; 17.4%); Thailand (18KT; 4.1%); Republic of Korea (34KT; 7.8KT); Italy (30KT; 6.9%)

5

Glass cullet waste

298

Portugal (83KT; 27.2%); Belgium (83KT; 27.2%); Netherlands (16KT; 5.3%); Spain (15KT; 5.2%); confidential country (13KT; 4.2%)

6

Worn clothing and textiles

281

Ghana (57KT; 20.4%); Pakistan (42KT; 15.1%); United Arab Emirates (34KT; 12.1%); Ukraine (26KT; 9.2%); Poland (24KT; 8.5%)

7

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries

181

Norway (151KT; 83.5%); Netherlands (22KT; 12.0%); Germany (8KT; 4.4%); New Caledonia (0.04KT; 0.02%); Canada (0.02KT; 0.01%)

8

Rubber waste

138

India (113KT; 81.6%); Pakistan (11KT; 7.6%); Japan (8KT; 6.0%); Netherlands (2KT;1.6%); France (1KT; 0.6%)

9

Animal waste

108

Ireland (36KT; 33.5%); France (23KT; 21.0%); Netherlands (17KT; 15.4%); Germany (13KT; 11.7%); Bulgaria (9KT; 8.1%)

10

Residues of starch manufacture and similar

76

Ireland (62KT; 81.9%); Denmark (8KT; 10.8%); Spain (4KT; 4.7%); Netherlands (2KT; 2.1%); Philippines (0.3KT; 0.4%)

11

Residues from food industry (vegetable waste)

26

Ireland (26KT; 98.5%); Qatar (0.1KT; 0.3%); Netherlands (0.1KT; 0.3%); Norway (0.1KT; 0.2%); France (0.02KT; 0.1%)

2021

Rank

Waste type

Waste exported (KT)

Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %)

1

Iron & steel waste and scrap

8,595

Turkey (2,345KT; 27.3%); Egypt (1,491KT; 17.3%); Bangladesh (675KT; 7.9%); Italy (496KT; 5.8%); United States of America (285KT; 3.3%)

2

Paper and paperboard waste

4,298

India (979KT; 22.8%); Thailand (561KT; 13.0%); Turkey (491KT; 11.4%); Netherlands (474KT; 11.0%); Malaysia (401KT; 9.3%)

3

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries

1,497

Sweden (617KT; 41.2%); Netherlands (346KT; 23.1%); Germany (106KT; 7.1%); Cyprus (104KT; 7.0%); Norway (99KT; 6.6%)

4

Aluminium waste and scrap

560

India (174KT; 31.2%); Hong Kong (43KT; 7.6%); Thailand (32KT; 5.8%); Republic of Korea (30KT; 5.4%); Switzerland (28KT; 5.0%)

5

Plastic scrap and waste

468

Turkey (123KT; 26.2%); Netherlands (101KT; 21.6%); Poland (52KT; 11.1%); Spain (37KT; 7.9%); Italy (18KT; 3.9%)

6

Glass cullet waste

367

Portugal (185KT; 50.4%); Belgium (72KT; 19.6%); Netherlands (48KT; 13.2%); Spain (33KT; 8.9%); Germany (11KT; 2.9%)

7

Worn clothing and textiles

358

Ghana (63KT; 17.7%); Pakistan (49KT; 13.7%); Ukraine (46KT; 12.9%); United Arab Emirates (42KT; 11.7%); Poland (41KT; 11.6%)

8

Rubber waste

296

India (194KT; 65.4%); Turkey (61KT; 20.4%); Portugal (13KT; 4.3%); Pakistan (10KT; 3.2%); Morocco (5KT; 1.7%)

9

Slag, ash and residues containing metals (excl. those from the manufacture of iron or steel)

99

Belgium (32KT; 32.1%); Norway (22KT; 22.1%); Netherlands (21KT; 21.4%); Germany (12KT; 12.2%); Canada (8KT; 8.0%)

10

Mineral fuels

86

Denmark (58KT; 67.6%); Greece (8KT; 9.2%); France (7KT; 8.3%); Belgium (6KT; 6.8%); Ireland (3KT; 3.4%)

2022

Rank

Waste type

Waste exported (KT)

Top destination country (in parentheses: quantity of waste exported in KT; proportion of total waste type exported from the UK as %)

1

Iron & steel waste and scrap

8,241

Turkey (1,840KT; 22.3%); Egypt (1,396KT; 16.9%); India (1,241KT; 15.1%); Bangladesh (730KT; 8.9%); Italy (290KT; 3.5%)

2

Paper and paperboard waste

4,087

India (1,124KT; 27.5%); Vietnam (525KT; 12.8%); Netherlands (454KT; 11.1%); Turkey (376KT; 9.2%); Malaysia (363KT; 8.9%)

3

Residual products of the chemical or allied industries

1,569

Sweden (709KT; 45.2%); Netherlands (365KT; 23.3%); Norway (101KT; 6.4%); Denmark (89KT; 5.7%); Cyprus (36KT; 2.3%)

4

Aluminium waste and scrap

632

India (213KT; 33.6%); Hong Kong (98KT; 15.5%); Germany (54KT; 8.5%); Thailand (41KT; 6.4%); Pakistan (20KT; 3.1%)

5

Plastic waste and scrap

483

Netherlands (120KT; 24.8KT); Turkey (88KT; 18.3%); Belgum (38KT; 7.9%); Poland (31KT; 6.4%); Spain (23KT; 4.7%)

6

Glass cullet waste

418

Portugal (222KT; 53%); Netherlands (67KT; 15.9%); Belgium (59KT; 14.0%); Spain (25KT; 5.9%); Italy (19KT; 4.5%)

7

Worn clothing and textiles

418

United Arab Emirates (75KT; 18.1%); Ghana (53KT; 12.6%); Pakistan (52KT; 12.4%); Poland (51KT; 12.3%); Ukraine (37KT; 8.8%)

8

Rubber waste

395

India (297KT; 75.2%); Turkey (43KT; 10.9%); Pakistan (10KT; 2.6%); Portugal (8KT; 1.9%); Denmark (6KT; 1.4%)

9

Copper waste and scrap

253

China (62KT; 24.5%); India (38KT; 14.9%); Germany (35KT; 13.9%); Japan (11KT; 4.2%); France (11KT; 4.2%)

10

Mineral fuels

118

Denmark (94KT; 79.6%); Finland (7KT; 5.6%); France (7KT; 5.6%); Ireland (4KT; 3.4%); Ireland (4KT; 3.4%); Belgium (4KT; 3.0%)


Written Question
Ferries: Europe
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to which (a) country and (b) port each (i) freight and (ii) passenger ferry route runs from the UK to the (A) EU and (B) European Economic Area; and which commercial operating company serves each route.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, ships' routeing measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for navigation and safety purposes, such as traffic separation schemes, operators and vessels are able to traverse any area of sea, or set up longer term regular routes where suitable market demand exists.

Ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis by private sector operators in order to provide services that meet wider passenger or freight demands. Government would not ordinarily expect to be involved in such decisions, or privy to operator business planning, and as such cannot provide formal details on ferry routes under development.

In the period following 31 December 2020 we are aware of 5 ferry services that have been established, as set out in table 1:

Table 1

Route

Operator

Date

Tilbury - Calais

DfDS

June 2023

Medway (Sheerness) - Calais

DfDS

June 2021

Dover - Calais

Irish Ferries

June 2021

Teesport - Zeebrugge

CLdN

March 2023

Teesport - Rotterdam

CLdN

March 2023

Table 2 details Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off, freight) and Passenger Ferries (Roll on-Roll off freight and passenger) vessels with regular routes (120 times per year), i.e. those that could be considered freight or passenger ferries, between UK and EU/EEA countries:

Table 2

EU/EEA Route (UK port to EU/EEA port)

Destination Country

Vessel Type

Ship operator

North Killingholme-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Purfleet-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Teesport-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Tilbury-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Esbjerg

Denmark

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Newhaven-Dieppe

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Plymouth-Roscoff

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

Condor Ferries

Portsmouth-Le Havre

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS Seaways

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

DFDS

St Helier Harbor-Saint-Malo

France

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Condor Ferries

Immingham-Cuxhaven

Germany

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

DFDS

Fishguard-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Heysham-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

Seatruck Ferries

Pembroke Dock-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Felixstowe-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Harwich-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Stena Line

Hull-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

Stena Line

London-Vlissingen

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Shields-Ijmuiden

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Purfleet-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Immingham-Gothenburg

Sweden

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Data Source: Sea by Maritech


Written Question
Shipping: Brexit
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what designated maritime routes into and out of the United Kingdom have been established on what dates since the UK left the European Union.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, ships' routeing measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for navigation and safety purposes, such as traffic separation schemes, operators and vessels are able to traverse any area of sea, or set up longer term regular routes where suitable market demand exists.

Ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis by private sector operators in order to provide services that meet wider passenger or freight demands. Government would not ordinarily expect to be involved in such decisions, or privy to operator business planning, and as such cannot provide formal details on ferry routes under development.

In the period following 31 December 2020 we are aware of 5 ferry services that have been established, as set out in table 1:

Table 1

Route

Operator

Date

Tilbury - Calais

DfDS

June 2023

Medway (Sheerness) - Calais

DfDS

June 2021

Dover - Calais

Irish Ferries

June 2021

Teesport - Zeebrugge

CLdN

March 2023

Teesport - Rotterdam

CLdN

March 2023

Table 2 details Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off, freight) and Passenger Ferries (Roll on-Roll off freight and passenger) vessels with regular routes (120 times per year), i.e. those that could be considered freight or passenger ferries, between UK and EU/EEA countries:

Table 2

EU/EEA Route (UK port to EU/EEA port)

Destination Country

Vessel Type

Ship operator

North Killingholme-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Purfleet-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Teesport-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Tilbury-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Esbjerg

Denmark

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Newhaven-Dieppe

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Plymouth-Roscoff

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

Condor Ferries

Portsmouth-Le Havre

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS Seaways

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

DFDS

St Helier Harbor-Saint-Malo

France

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Condor Ferries

Immingham-Cuxhaven

Germany

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

DFDS

Fishguard-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Heysham-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

Seatruck Ferries

Pembroke Dock-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Felixstowe-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Harwich-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Stena Line

Hull-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

Stena Line

London-Vlissingen

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Shields-Ijmuiden

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Purfleet-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Immingham-Gothenburg

Sweden

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Data Source: Sea by Maritech


Written Question
Shipping
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what designated maritime routes into and out of the United Kingdom are in development.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, ships' routeing measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for navigation and safety purposes, such as traffic separation schemes, operators and vessels are able to traverse any area of sea, or set up longer term regular routes where suitable market demand exists.

Ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis by private sector operators in order to provide services that meet wider passenger or freight demands. Government would not ordinarily expect to be involved in such decisions, or privy to operator business planning, and as such cannot provide formal details on ferry routes under development.

In the period following 31 December 2020 we are aware of 5 ferry services that have been established, as set out in table 1:

Table 1

Route

Operator

Date

Tilbury - Calais

DfDS

June 2023

Medway (Sheerness) - Calais

DfDS

June 2021

Dover - Calais

Irish Ferries

June 2021

Teesport - Zeebrugge

CLdN

March 2023

Teesport - Rotterdam

CLdN

March 2023

Table 2 details Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off, freight) and Passenger Ferries (Roll on-Roll off freight and passenger) vessels with regular routes (120 times per year), i.e. those that could be considered freight or passenger ferries, between UK and EU/EEA countries:

Table 2

EU/EEA Route (UK port to EU/EEA port)

Destination Country

Vessel Type

Ship operator

North Killingholme-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Purfleet-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Teesport-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Tilbury-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Esbjerg

Denmark

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Newhaven-Dieppe

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Plymouth-Roscoff

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

Condor Ferries

Portsmouth-Le Havre

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS Seaways

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

DFDS

St Helier Harbor-Saint-Malo

France

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Condor Ferries

Immingham-Cuxhaven

Germany

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

DFDS

Fishguard-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Heysham-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

Seatruck Ferries

Pembroke Dock-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Felixstowe-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Harwich-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Stena Line

Hull-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

Stena Line

London-Vlissingen

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Shields-Ijmuiden

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Purfleet-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Immingham-Gothenburg

Sweden

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Data Source: Sea by Maritech


Written Question
Shipping: Europe
Friday 20th October 2023

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the designated maritime routes are between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

Between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe, ships' routeing measures adopted by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for navigation and safety purposes, such as traffic separation schemes, operators and vessels are able to traverse any area of sea, or set up longer term regular routes where suitable market demand exists.

Ferry routes are developed on a commercial basis by private sector operators in order to provide services that meet wider passenger or freight demands. Government would not ordinarily expect to be involved in such decisions, or privy to operator business planning, and as such cannot provide formal details on ferry routes under development.

In the period following 31 December 2020 we are aware of 5 ferry services that have been established, as set out in table 1:

Table 1

Route

Operator

Date

Tilbury - Calais

DfDS

June 2023

Medway (Sheerness) - Calais

DfDS

June 2021

Dover - Calais

Irish Ferries

June 2021

Teesport - Zeebrugge

CLdN

March 2023

Teesport - Rotterdam

CLdN

March 2023

Table 2 details Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off, freight) and Passenger Ferries (Roll on-Roll off freight and passenger) vessels with regular routes (120 times per year), i.e. those that could be considered freight or passenger ferries, between UK and EU/EEA countries:

Table 2

EU/EEA Route (UK port to EU/EEA port)

Destination Country

Vessel Type

Ship operator

North Killingholme-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Purfleet-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Teesport-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Tilbury-Zeebrugge

Belgium

Ro-Ro

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Esbjerg

Denmark

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Dover-Calais

France

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Dover-Dunkirk

France

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Newhaven-Dieppe

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Plymouth-Roscoff

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Poole Harbor-Cherbourg

France

Pass. Ferries

Condor Ferries

Portsmouth-Le Havre

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

Brittany Ferries

Portsmouth-Ouistreham

France

Pass. Ferries

DFDS Seaways

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Sheerness-Calais

France

Ro-Ro

DFDS

St Helier Harbor-Saint-Malo

France

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Condor Ferries

Immingham-Cuxhaven

Germany

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

DFDS

Fishguard-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Heysham-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Holyhead-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Liverpool-Dublin

Ireland

Ro-Ro

Seatruck Ferries

Pembroke Dock-Rosslare

Ireland

Pass. Ferries

Irish Ferries

Felixstowe-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Harwich-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries and Ro-Ro

Stena Line

Hull-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

P&O Ferries

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Immingham-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

Stena Line

London-Vlissingen

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

Stena Line

North Killingholme-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

North Shields-Ijmuiden

Netherlands

Pass. Ferries

DFDS

Purfleet-Rotterdam

Netherlands

Ro-Ro

CLdN Ro-Ro SA

Immingham-Gothenburg

Sweden

Ro-Ro

DFDS

Data Source: Sea by Maritech


Written Question
Tobacco: Northern Ireland
Wednesday 4th October 2023

Asked by: Lord Dodds of Duncairn (Democratic Unionist Party - Life peer)

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Markham on 19 September (HL10107), what consultations have taken place about the membership of the independent advisory panel as set out in Implementing Decision (EU) 2016/786; and who has so far been appointed to the panel.

Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The last consultation by the European Commission on the Independent Advisory panel on characterising flavours in tobacco products was held from 15 July 2016 to 20 October 2016.

The current panel exists of six members. Members are appointed for a renewable term of five years. The Commission also has a list of reserved suitable panel members. The following experts are current members of the Independent Advisory Panel:

- Dr. Alberto Del Rio, Innovamol Consulting Srl, Bologna, Italy;

- Dr. Garmt Dijksterhuis, The Netherlands;

- Dr. Jan van Amsterdam, Department of Psychiatry, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands;

- Mr. Emmanuel Vanzeveren, It makes sense SPRL, Braine Le Comte, Belgium (Vice-chair);

- Dr. Wouter Visser, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Bilthoven, The Netherlands; and

- Prof. Efthimios Zervas, Hellenic Open University, Patra, Greece (Chair).


Written Question
Asylum: Boats
Thursday 21st September 2023

Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to her Department's factsheet: asylum accommodation on a vessel in Portland Port, updated on 25 August 2023, what fire safety standards she has applied to the Bibby Stockholm; and to which industry standards the factsheet refers.

Answered by Robert Jenrick

Under Part 6 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, the Home Office has a legal obligation to support asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute.

In the Netherlands and Belgium, the authorities have delivered accommodation for asylum seekers on vessels in a safe and secure manner.

The Bibby Stockholm vessel has been used for decades to provide safe and decent accommodation to oil rig workers and was used between 1995 to 1998 to accommodate refugees in Germany.

Corporate Travel Management (CTM) are responsible for managing the services on the barge. CTM managed two Scottish vessels housing refugees and have a strong track record of providing this kind of accommodation. We are confident that it will continue to manage the vessel and its supporting services. CTM has worked closely and successfully with local authorities and other public and voluntary organisations in Scotland.

The Bibby Stockholm adheres to the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005 and has an appropriate fire risk assessment that complies to those regulations including safety features such as fire doors, fire detection systems and firefighting equipment at strategic locations.