Of the six English port police forces, able to use the Marine Navigation Act, the port police forces for Bristol, Dover and Teesport have sought and received the consent of the chief constable of the relevant territorial police force to exercise certain powers outside their port area, while a fourth, Liverpool port police, is currently seeking it.

None. I note the Commission's decision, which effectively gives state aid clearance to the original award of grant to Liverpool city council, and to the removal of the prohibition of turnaround visits at the city of Liverpool cruise terminal.

The Arctic is an area of increasing importance for maritime transport. Both the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea Route will offer significantly shorter travelling distances between Europe and Asia later in the 21st Century if the Arctic warming trend continues at its current rate.

While the Government has not carried out a dedicated study of the future effect on UK ports, the Government believes that the UK ports and shipping industries, together with the wider maritime cluster, are generally well placed to take advantage of any commercial opportunities that expansion of Arctic shipping may present in the short term.

The Government intends to keep under review, in the longer term, whether there is anything that it is best placed to do, in order both to facilitate worthwhile trade opportunities and to help ensure that this is done with due regard to the environment.

I have had numerous discussions and exchanges of correspondence with British ports and their trade associations on this proposed regulation. DFT officials are working in close liaison with the ports and shipping industry on analysis of proposed amendments and assessment of impacts, and draft text options.

This matter has yet to be discussed in detail at Transport Council, but I have taken opportunities to discuss with several of my ministerial counterparts matters of mutual concern about the potential impact of the regulation on competitive ports, and I will continue to do so.

Council working party discussions have taken place on 18 and 25 February and further such meetings are currently scheduled for 18 and 25 March. Officials have also briefed Members of the European Parliament on concerns about the details of the Proposal, and have discussed these with Commission officials. The general aim, which the Government broadly shares with the UK ports and shipping industry, is to promote drafting improvements that would avoid imposing unwarranted burdens on competitive, unsubsidised ports and service providers such as those in the UK, while promoting greater financial transparency, fairer competition and market access where subsidy does occur and where competition between ports is restricted.

It is expected that the Greek presidency will report on progress to the Transport Council on 5-6 June. Meanwhile the UK will continue to engage in negotiations with a view to avoiding any unnecessarily burdensome regulation of a successful, efficient and vital sector of the economy. At the same time, we will support greater financial transparency for publicly-funded ports and a more rigorous approach to state aids in the ports sector.

No member state has a veto on this proposal. The legal base for the proposed Regulation is article 100(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and it is consequently subject to qualified majority voting procedures.

My assessment of the potential effects of this proposed regulation was set out in the relevant Explanatory Memorandum (EM 10154/13) and in my subsequent letters of 12 November last to the Chairmen of the Scrutiny Committees, particularly in the impact checklist attached thereto. The Government's view is that encouraging fair competition between ports is the best way to secure efficiency within them, and that regulation of ports that already operate in a fully competitive environment, and that are already subject (as are other commercial businesses) to national and European competition law, should be kept to the necessary minimum.

The Government's approach to this proposed regulation is founded on the understanding that the UK ports sector continues to operate efficiently, and to invest vigorously in a competitive environment with minimal call upon the taxpayer. We aim to ensure that, should this proposal become law in some form, it does so in a manner which will not impose unwarranted regulatory burdens on ports that are fully competitive, but will promote financial transparency in those that are not.

The Greek presidency has provisionally scheduled Council Working Group discussions on 18 and 25 February and has included the proposal on its provisional agenda for the Transport, Telecommunications and Energy Council on 5-6 June.

Officials held discussions on the plans at two workshops, one in February and the other in July of this year. These workshops were attended by a range of interested parties from across Government Departments, and the maritime industry. The RMT and Nautilus unions attended the second of these workshops focussing on shipping. Other workshop planning and follow up meetings took place between officials, Ports Association (UKMPG and BPA) and Chamber of Shipping representatives (who worked in consultation with union representatives).

The content of these plans reflects ongoing work on a variety of maritime issues which are discussed with the industry in a range of meetings at official and ministerial level, including directly with the unions. It would be at disproportionate cost to provide lists of attendees at all these meetings.

These plans are not intended to be set pieces. They will evolve as new actions,, tasks and decisions are shaped and agreed. We hope the unions will continue to play an active role in these plans as they further develop.

The public consultation on Network Rail's proposal to close the Folkestone Harbour branch line and Folkestone Harbour station is open until 28 February 2014. The purpose of this consultation is

to ensure that all parties, including Folkestone Harbour Railway Ltd, have the opportunity to put forward their views and any alternative proposals. The Secretary of State for Transport, my right hon. Friend the Member for Derbyshire Dales (Mr McLoughlin), will not make any decision on the next stage of the closure process until he has had an opportunity to assess all the responses to that consultation.

London International Shipping Week is taking place this week. The Government have given full support to this inaugural event to showcase UK maritime business—a growing sector which is already worth up to £14 billion a year to the economy and provides 263,000 jobs. We will continue to work closely with the maritime industry to ensure the UK holds and builds on its leading global position in a world of increasingly strong competition.

We have not undertaken such research and the information requested is not held centrally.

However, as part of its long-term planning process, Network Rail recently published a draft Freight Market Study for consultation. This is available at

www.networkrail.co.uk/improvements/planning-policies-and-plans/long-term-planning-process/market-studies/freight/

It gives an indication of the growth in ports and domestic intermodal container traffic carried by rail from 1998-2011.

The ports sector has, through commercial investment in co-operation with Network Rail and other transport providers, ensured that major ports are generally well equipped to make good use of rail and coastal shipping where these are viable alternatives to road transport.

The Government continues to encourage rail freight at ports, and coastal shipping, through appropriate incentives.

The Government has no plans to revisit the Ports and Harbours Act 1847 with a view to amending it. The legislation enshrines the principle of the free movement of trade and the rights of importers/exporters to engage in legal trade activity without prejudice or hindrance. In common with all other EU member states, the UK is also bound by much more recently enacted EU directives which entrench this principle across the entire European Union. This was confirmed by two European Court of Justice cases as well as a number of High Court cases in the 1990s.

The Department does not hold information on the movement of freight containers or vehicles using multiple modes of transportation.

The Port of Sunderland is a municipal port. Further information on their facilities can be found at:

http://www.portofsunderland.org.uk/

The Department does not hold information on public or private sector investment in the Port of Sunderland.

It has taken a long time to consider and reach a decision on the Dee Estuary Harbour Revision Order due to the fact that a separate harbour

revision order has been put forward by Mostyn Port and the two harbour revision orders conflict with each other. In addition, following an accident, consideration of the two harbour revision orders was deferred while the Marine Accident Investigation Board investigated the accident. There was then further representations about the extent of the jurisdiction of the harbour authorities. Since then the consideration has had to be prioritised alongside other work and the resources are now available to progress this matter to a decision.

Ministers from the Department for Transport have met with Home Office Ministers but this specific issue has not been raised in discussion. If the hon. Gentleman would like to provide details of the difficulties encountered by the cruise industry I will certainly raise those concerns with the Home Office.