UK election promises for ports and shipping industry

Mr Brazier told James Tweed of Coracle Online, that the Valuation Office Agency ‘was operating out of control’ when it dished out rates going back four years, to businesses that “as far as we were concerned were already paying rates already through the cumulo system”, (that is, rates were a proportion of the charges paid directly to port owners).

He added, “if we come to power we are committed to freezing all these rate demands while there is an immediate enquiry.”

However, on other issues, the Conservative party plans no changes: as far as the UK tonnage tax is concerned, Mr Brazier says “we have made no secret of the fact that we think that it is one of the things the government got right”.

Minimum pay for seafarers on UK flagged ships in UK waters likewise gets short shrift. Mr Brazier dismissed any changes by saying that while many of them are coming from countries with very low average earnings when viewed in sterling, a lot of these seafarers, in terms of their own local economies, are being very well paid. “If we said you have to pay your foreign crews the British rate, it wouldn’t do anything to help those seamen,” as the effect might simply be to encourage a lot of ships to immediately leave the British Flag, he explained.

On one last point, Maritime training, Mr Brazier says the Conservative Party, despite not having a fully worked up programme, does recognise a serious problem. The British merchant navy, “despite having an exceptionally good reputation, is not getting enough young people” says Mr Brazier, “and although it has improved from the worst years, the age profile is still moving the wrong way”.

Adding that a future Conservative government would be committed to a huge programme of apprenticeships, including qualifications right up to first degree level, he said that a recent meeting with John Hayes, shadow spokesman on further education and vocational training, the Chamber of Shipping and the Merchant Navy Training Board centred on ways to build the needs of the merchant navy into this large new programme of vocational training. “However,” he admitted, “in all honesty, it’s not completely straightforward: one complication is that it is hedged about with EU law, but we will start looking for a way forward.”

The interview can be listened to through Coracle Online’s shipping podcasts, or by visiting http://bit.ly/bjwvbo