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1727436

registered interest
date	04/09/2024
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Mobility Scooters
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what guidance her Department has issued on increasing (a) station accessibility and (b) rolling stock accessibility for mobility scooters on the rail network.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	4218
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2024 answer text <p>The Secretary of State publishes Design Standards for Accessible Railway Stations, which licenced operators must follow whenever they install, renew or replace infrastructure or facilities in Great Britain.</p><p> </p><p>Train and station operators are required by their operating licences to establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) which must be approved by the Office of Rail and Road.  An ATP sets out, among other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services and to facilitate such use.</p><p></p><p>The guidance states that operators must set out their policies regarding the carriage of mobility scooters and other mobility aids for mobility-impaired people on their trains. Operators must make the reasoning behind their policies clear, particularly with regard to any policy excluding the carriage of some or all mobility scooters and mobility aids.</p><p> </p><p>Operators must also provide as part of their ATP a separate document that gives details of services and facilities at all of the stations they manage, and other stations called at by their services, including relevant stations operated by Network Rail.</p> answering member constituency Wakefield and Rothwell answering member printed Simon Lightwood question first answered 13/09/2024 13:22:29 answering member 4943 label Biography information for Simon Lightwood
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1727437

registered interest
date	04/09/2024
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Mobility Scooters
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring passenger rail franchise operators to accommodate mobility scooters.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	4219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2024 answer text <p>Train and station operators are required by their operating licences to establish and comply with an Accessible Travel Policy (ATP) which must be approved by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR).  An ATP sets out, among other things, the arrangements and assistance that an operator will provide to protect the interests of disabled people using its services and to facilitate such use.</p><p> </p><p>Operators may offer a scooter card scheme which allows passengers to apply for a permit for the carriage of their scooter based on its dimensions and other relevant information reasonably requested by the operator. This flexibility is allowed by the ORR given the variety of mobility scooters, different types rolling stock that may call at an operator’s station (often for different operators’ services), as well as the potential infrastructure restrictions at stations. ORR require operators to publish clear information about what mobility scooters they do / don’t accept, and where and this information is available on operators’ websites.</p> answering member constituency Wakefield and Rothwell answering member printed Simon Lightwood question first answered 13/09/2024 13:06:26 answering member 4943 label Biography information for Simon Lightwood
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1727438

registered interest
date	04/09/2024
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Mobility Scooters
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many (a) stations and (b) rolling stock units in service were mobility-scooter friendly on the rail network in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough and Thornaby East
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	4220
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/09/2024 answer text <p>This government is committed to making the railway more accessible. Since 2006, the Access for All Programme has upgraded more than 250 stations to deliver step free access across Great Britain. Details on the accessibility and facilities for each station can be found on the National Rail Enquires or individual train operating company websites.</p><p> </p><p>All trains in service meet the relevant accessibility requirements and are built around accommodating wheelchair dimensions of 1200mm by 700mm but not mobility scooters.</p><p> </p><p>Operators may offer a scooter card scheme which allows passengers to apply for a permit for the carriage of their scooter based on its dimensions and other relevant information reasonably requested by the operator. This flexibility is allowed by the ORR given the variety of mobility scooters, different types rolling stock that may call at an operator’s station (often for different operators’ services), as well as the potential infrastructure restrictions at stations. ORR require operators to publish clear information about what mobility scooters they do / don’t accept, and where and this information is available on operators’ websites.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2010, over 8,800 new vehicles out of a fleet of over 15,200 vehicles have been ordered by train operators to replace vehicles that did not meet modern accessibility requirements.</p> answering member constituency Wakefield and Rothwell answering member printed Simon Lightwood question first answered 13/09/2024 13:19:50 answering member 4943 label Biography information for Simon Lightwood
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1652471

registered interest
date	12/07/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Railways: Ticket Offices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of the potential closure of train station ticket offices in Middlesbrough on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the North East.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	193659
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2023 answer text <p>When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.</p><p> </p><p>Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bexhill and Battle answering member printed Huw Merriman question first answered 17/07/2023 14:29:35 answering member 4442 label Biography information for Huw Merriman
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1599636

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Shipping: Freight
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment of trends in the level of demand for shipping services from Teesport to Zeebrugge in the logistics sector.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	153784
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>The port and shipping sectors are both private, commercial sectors. Therefore, the assessment of future demand requirements of specific markets such as logistics, will be a commercial factor for relevant operators.</p><p> </p><p>The Department for Transport does not publish statistics at port-to-port level due to commercial sensitivity, however, statistics for UK major port freight traffic to specific countries are available in table PORT0499, accessible here: <a href="https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1122247%2Fport0499.ods&amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK." target="_blank">https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1122247%2Fport0499.ods&amp;wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.</a></p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 02/03/2023 11:52:03 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1599638

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Teesport
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of seafarer jobs that were supported by each shipping activity in Teesport in each year since 2015.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	153785
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>The Department publishes statistics on seafarers nationally however these are not available at port level.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 02/03/2023 10:25:36 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1599639

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Shipping: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions with maritime trade unions on the employment conditions of (a) non-European and (b) European seafarers on MS Finnpulp.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	153786
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>Ministers have regular engagement with the maritime trade unions but have not discussed the employment conditions on MS Finnpulp.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 02/03/2023 10:27:05 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1599640

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Shipping: Conditions of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to improve seafarer (a) pay and (b) employment conditions on vessels which provide regular shipping services from UK (i) ports and (ii) Freeports but fall out of scope of the measures in the Seafarers Wages Bill and are not covered by collective bargaining agreements with the maritime trade unions.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	153787
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2023 answer text <p>The Department with input from industry and maritime trade unions is developing the voluntary Seafarers’ Charter to improve working conditions for seafarers. The charter will set minimum standards for overtime pay, access to social protections and address the use of voyage contracts. Further information about the Charter and its provisions will be made available in due course.</p><p> </p><p>We are also looking to implement the improvements to employment conditions for seafarers that were agreed with the support of the UK at the May 2022 meeting of the Special Tripartite Committee of the Maritime Labour Convention. The amendments to the Convention include those to ensure that food and drinking water of appropriate quality is provided free of charge and that seafarers are provided with details of insurance before or during the engagement process. The Department has also supported guidelines requiring the provision of internet access to seafarers on ships in port at free or low cost and has commissioned research on this to ensure the UK remains at forefront of the global seafaring community.</p><p> </p><p>We are in ongoing discussions with international partners, industry and trade unions to drive forward seafarer working conditions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 02/03/2023 12:27:33 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1599641

registered interest
date	27/02/2023
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Shipping: Cyprus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of understanding that his Department agreed with the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry on 21 February 2023.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	153788
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2023 answer text <p>The Memorandum of Understanding signed on 21 February is a non-binding maritime co-operation agreement between the Department for Transport and the Cyprus Shipping Deputy Ministry. I have placed a copy of the MoU in the Libraries of both houses.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Durham answering member printed Mr Richard Holden question first answered 07/03/2023 13:35:28 answering member 4813 label Biography information for Mr Richard Holden
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald

1401486

registered interest
date	10/01/2022
answering body	Department for Transport
answering dept id	27
answering dept short name	Transport
answering dept sort name	Transport
hansard heading	Train Operating Companies: Industrial Disputes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, who will be responsible for risks arising from industrial action under rail passenger service contracts.
tabling member constituency	Middlesbrough
tabling member printed	Andy McDonald
uin	100561
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2022 answer text <p>Officials continue to consider the financial implications and approach to risks arising from industrial action under the Passenger Service Contracts; no policy decisions have yet been made.</p> answering member constituency Copeland answering member printed Trudy Harrison question first answered 13/01/2022 09:54:35 answering member 4593 label Biography information for Trudy Harrison
tabling member	4269 label Biography information for Andy McDonald