The Department supports the entire maritime sector to help industry create jobs around British Ports, ensuring that ports can operate effectively within the right regulatory environment for growth. For example, the Department works jointly with the sector through the Maritime Skills Commission to build the right employment skills to underpin this. We are also investing directly with our match funded £206m UK Shipping Office for Reducing Emissions (UK SHORE) programme to accelerate decarbonisation, using innovation to drive economic growth and job creation.

Development and improvement of port infrastructure is a matter for the sector itself and we work with them to create the right conditions to facilitate growth, investment and enhancement by all ports.

Along with Cyprus, the US, UAE and others, the UK will help deliver humanitarian aid by sea to a new temporary US military pier in Gaza, via a maritime corridor from Cyprus. We have already shown that this is possible - in January, we worked with our Cypriot partners to pre-screen 87 tonnes of aid that was delivered by Royal Navy ship RFA Lyme Bay to the Egyptian Red Cross for the people of Gaza.

We continue to urge Israel to allow more trucks into Gaza as the fastest way to get aid to those who need it. We also continue to call on Israel to fully open Ashdod Port for aid delivery.

We intend to launch a Call for Evidence on Net Zero Ports which will gather evidence on ports decarbonisation and the role of ports in enabling others to decarbonise.

By publishing a call for evidence in early 2022, we fulfilled our Transport Decarbonisation Plan commitment to consult on appropriate steps to support and, if needed, mandate the uptake of shore power in the UK. The call for evidence collated views on the costs and benefits of shore power and potential options to enable the rollout of this technology. We published a summary of responses in July 2022. We are using the evidence provided by the 34 respondents, including the Port of Portsmouth to inform our future plans and policies.

We are not picking winners on the issue of facilities. The port infrastructure fund is an investment that ports do not have to make themselves, and Portsmouth has received £17 million. The hon. Gentleman may interested to know that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is undertaking a review of facilities that will be needed at border control posts, including facilities for live animals, in advance of March next year to see whether the size and scope of the facilities have changed. We will continue to engage with Portsmouth, as I have been. I have had several meetings with representatives there, but with the change in import controls, there will now be more time to deliver and build these facilities, and we hope that this time proves useful.

The port infrastructure fund is granting £200 million of public funding to ports to build facilities required for border controls, which will now come into effect on 1 January 2022, while checks on live animals, low-risk plants and plant products will come in from 1 March next year. The delay to the introduction of controls announced this month allows more time for accreditation in operational testing of those facilities.

The Government continue to deliver wide-ranging support measures to British ports, including unprecedented levels of direct funding such as grants.

As a general rule, the “user pays” principle applies, so the Government would expect ports to pay for improvements themselves, but the Government have taken an unprecedented approach through the ports infrastructure fund to support as many ports as possible with grants. Portsmouth was awarded more than £17 million, which is the third-largest amount awarded to any port and is extremely significant funding. The hon. Gentleman’s city is, of course, part of the successful Solent freeport bid, which I am sure he welcomes.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions within Government are not normally disclosed. Cabinet Office officials are in regular contact with ports across the UK as part of their regular engagement. This includes all ports which applied to the fund. This contact is ongoing. There were no discussions between Cabinet Office officials or ministers and the Rt Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell regarding the Port Infrastructure Fund.

The Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) team worked with an independent eligibility and assessment team, with specialist experience and technical expertise in rail, air and maritime port infrastructure design and build to assess the funding applications. The Fund Allocation Authority (FAA), which is made up of representatives from across the relevant government departments such as HMRC, Defra and Border Force, subsequently made decisions about allocations based on the recommendations of the PIF Team.

The Fund received 53 applications from a range of sea ports, rail facilities and airports. Of the 53 ports that applied to the fund, 41 were successful in their application and a total of £200M has been provisionally allocated. 12 ports were not considered eligible or were unsuccessful at assessment phase.

It is a commercial decision for ports as to whether to provide these facilities. In normal circumstances, ports would be expected to fund such facilities themselves. However - in recognition of the unique circumstances of EU Exit, and the tight timescales for putting infrastructure in place - Government has made £470m of funding available to support border readiness.

Ports will need to fund the remaining 34% themselves. As the maximum amount of funding available was £200 million, a 66% award was applied across all applications ensuring all successful bids received a fair and proportionate level of taxpayer funded support.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions within Government are not normally disclosed. Cabinet Office officials are in regular contact with ports across the UK as part of their regular engagement. This includes all ports which applied to the fund. This contact is ongoing. There were no discussions between Cabinet Office officials or ministers and the Rt Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell regarding the Port Infrastructure Fund.

The Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) team worked with an independent eligibility and assessment team, with specialist experience and technical expertise in rail, air and maritime port infrastructure design and build to assess the funding applications. The Fund Allocation Authority (FAA), which is made up of representatives from across the relevant government departments such as HMRC, Defra and Border Force, subsequently made decisions about allocations based on the recommendations of the PIF Team.

The Fund received 53 applications from a range of sea ports, rail facilities and airports. Of the 53 ports that applied to the fund, 41 were successful in their application and a total of £200M has been provisionally allocated. 12 ports were not considered eligible or were unsuccessful at assessment phase.

It is a commercial decision for ports as to whether to provide these facilities. In normal circumstances, ports would be expected to fund such facilities themselves. However - in recognition of the unique circumstances of EU Exit, and the tight timescales for putting infrastructure in place - Government has made £470m of funding available to support border readiness.

Ports will need to fund the remaining 34% themselves. As the maximum amount of funding available was £200 million, a 66% award was applied across all applications ensuring all successful bids received a fair and proportionate level of taxpayer funded support.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions within Government are not normally disclosed. Cabinet Office officials are in regular contact with ports across the UK as part of their regular engagement. This includes all ports which applied to the fund. This contact is ongoing. There were no discussions between Cabinet Office officials or ministers and the Rt Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell regarding the Port Infrastructure Fund.

The Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) team worked with an independent eligibility and assessment team, with specialist experience and technical expertise in rail, air and maritime port infrastructure design and build to assess the funding applications. The Fund Allocation Authority (FAA), which is made up of representatives from across the relevant government departments such as HMRC, Defra and Border Force, subsequently made decisions about allocations based on the recommendations of the PIF Team.

The Fund received 53 applications from a range of sea ports, rail facilities and airports. Of the 53 ports that applied to the fund, 41 were successful in their application and a total of £200M has been provisionally allocated. 12 ports were not considered eligible or were unsuccessful at assessment phase.

It is a commercial decision for ports as to whether to provide these facilities. In normal circumstances, ports would be expected to fund such facilities themselves. However - in recognition of the unique circumstances of EU Exit, and the tight timescales for putting infrastructure in place - Government has made £470m of funding available to support border readiness.

Ports will need to fund the remaining 34% themselves. As the maximum amount of funding available was £200 million, a 66% award was applied across all applications ensuring all successful bids received a fair and proportionate level of taxpayer funded support.

In line with the practice of successive administrations, details of internal discussions within Government are not normally disclosed. Cabinet Office officials are in regular contact with ports across the UK as part of their regular engagement. This includes all ports which applied to the fund. This contact is ongoing. There were no discussions between Cabinet Office officials or ministers and the Rt Hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell regarding the Port Infrastructure Fund.

The Port Infrastructure Fund (PIF) team worked with an independent eligibility and assessment team, with specialist experience and technical expertise in rail, air and maritime port infrastructure design and build to assess the funding applications. The Fund Allocation Authority (FAA), which is made up of representatives from across the relevant government departments such as HMRC, Defra and Border Force, subsequently made decisions about allocations based on the recommendations of the PIF Team.

The Fund received 53 applications from a range of sea ports, rail facilities and airports. Of the 53 ports that applied to the fund, 41 were successful in their application and a total of £200M has been provisionally allocated. 12 ports were not considered eligible or were unsuccessful at assessment phase.

It is a commercial decision for ports as to whether to provide these facilities. In normal circumstances, ports would be expected to fund such facilities themselves. However - in recognition of the unique circumstances of EU Exit, and the tight timescales for putting infrastructure in place - Government has made £470m of funding available to support border readiness.

Ports will need to fund the remaining 34% themselves. As the maximum amount of funding available was £200 million, a 66% award was applied across all applications ensuring all successful bids received a fair and proportionate level of taxpayer funded support.

The Department has worked closely with all parts of the maritime sector, including our ports and their Trade Associations, as they have continued to operate throughout the pandemic and provide vital freight and passenger services. As the economy continues its safe re-opening, we will continue to engage widely across the maritime sector to understand any challenges they face, including the ongoing financial health of maritime companies and our ports.

The Government has worked closely with all parts of the maritime sector, including Portsmouth International Port, to ensure that ferry services can continue to operate throughout the pandemic. We have provided guidance to both ports and ferry companies on safe operating practices to address the risks of Covid-19.

The Government is actively working on the practicalities of using testing to release people from self-isolation earlier than 14 days. Officials across the Government are working with health experts with the aim of cutting the self-isolation period without adding to infection risk or infringing on our overall NHS test capacity. The Secretary of State for Transport has committed to updating the House on testing of international arrivals in the coming weeks.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer he was given by my predecessor (Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP) on 5 November 2019 to Question 8278.

The Ministry of Defence has no current plans to construct a dry-dock facility for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Plans for a long-term in-service support solution for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are under consideration as part of the Common Support Model for complex warships. However, on current plans, routine scheduled repair and refitting of the two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, other than dry-docking, will be conducted at her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth and will sustain jobs at that site.

The Ministry of Defence has no current plans to construct a dry-dock facility for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Plans for a long-term in-service support solution for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are under consideration as part of the Common Support Model for complex warships. However, on current plans, routine scheduled repair and refitting of the two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, other than dry-docking, will be conducted at her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth and will sustain jobs at that site.

The Ministry of Defence has no current plans to construct a dry-dock facility for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Plans for a long-term in-service support solution for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are under consideration as part of the Common Support Model for complex warships. However, on current plans, routine scheduled repair and refitting of the two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, other than dry-docking, will be conducted at her Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth and will sustain jobs at that site.

HMRC was provided with £47m at Supplementary Estimates 2017-18 for EU Exit related work, and allocated a further £260m at Spring Statement 2018 for 2018-19. As with all Reserve funding next year, finalised allocations will be confirmed at Supplementary Estimates 2018-19 in early 2019. This funding will allow HMRC to support ongoing work to deliver the UK’s new customs, tax and welfare arrangements with the EU, including preparation of the borders.