The New National Boatmasters' Licence
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House of Commons Transport Committee The new National Boatmasters’ Licence Sixth Report of Session 2006–07 Volume II Oral and written evidence Ordered by The House of Commons to be printed 16 May 2007 HC 320-II Published on 25 May 2007 by authority of the House of Commons London: The Stationery Office Limited £16.50 The Transport Committee The Transport Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department for Transport and its associated public bodies. Current membership Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody MP (Labour, Crewe and Nantwich) (Chairman) Mr David Clelland MP (Labour, Tyne Bridge) Mr Jeffrey M Donaldson MP (Democratic Unionist, Lagan Valley) Clive Efford MP (Labour, Eltham) Mrs Louise Ellman MP (Labour/Co-operative, Liverpool Riverside) Mr Philip Hollobone MP (Conservative, Kettering) Mr John Leech MP (Liberal Democrat, Manchester, Withington) Mr Eric Martlew MP (Labour, Carlisle) Mr Lee Scott MP (Conservative, Ilford North) Mr Graham Stringer MP (Labour, Manchester Blackley) Mr David Wilshire MP (Conservative, Spelthorne) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the Internet via www.parliament.uk. Publications The Reports and evidence of the Committee are published by The Stationery Office by Order of the House. All publications of the Committee (including press notices) are on the Internet at www.parliament.uk/transcom. A list of reports of the Committee for the current session is at the back of this Report. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are Tom Healey (Clerk), Annette Toft (Second Clerk), Clare Maltby (Committee Specialist), Louise Butcher (Inquiry Manager), Alison Mara (Committee Assistant), Ronnie Jefferson (Secretary), Jim Lawford (Senior Office Clerk) and Laura Kibby (Media Officer). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Transport Committee, House of Commons, 7 Millbank, London SW1P 3JA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6263; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. Witnesses Wednesday 21 February 2007 Page Mr Colin Middlemiss, Clerk, and Mr Christopher Livett, Member of the Court and Past Master, The Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames; Mr Alex Hickman, Chairman, and Captain Scott Newton, Master of the Woolwich Ferry, The Watermen’s and Lightermen’s Practitioners’ Committee; Professor Alan Lee Williams OBE, Chairman, and Mr Jack Faram MBE, Honorary Director, Transport on Water Association Ev 14 Dr Roger Squires, Deputy National Chairman and Chairman of the Navigation Committee, Inland Waterways Association Ev 32 Mr Peter Hugman, Commercial Boat Operators’ Association, Captain John Percival, Member and Training Adviser, and Captain Heather Chaplin, Director, Association of Inland Shipping Operators Ev 41 Wednesday 7 March 2007 Ms Margaret Lockwood Croft, and Mr Malcolm Williams, Marchioness Action Group Ev 52 Mr Mick Cash, Senior Assistant General Secretary, and Mr Paul Baker, Boatmasters’ Representative, National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers; Mr Richard Flynn, Port of London Pilot, and Mr Dave Williamson, Liverpool Pilot, UK Maritime Pilots’ Association (Part of the T&GW); Mr Roger Sealey, Transport Researcher and Mr Richard Crease, Coastal, Maritime and Towage, Transport and General Workers’ Union Ev 65 Mr David Snelson, Chief Harbour Master and Mr Julian Parkes, Navigation Safety Management, Port of London Authority Ev 80 Dr Stephen Ladyman MP, Minister of State for Transport, Ms Theresa Crossley, Head of Shipping Policy Division, Department for Transport and Mr John Astbury, Chief Executive, Maritime and Coastguard Agency Ev 104 Wednesday 14 March 2007 Mr Andrew Crawford, Chair, Technical Committee (Serco-Denholm), and Mr Mark Ranson, Member, Technical Committee (Adsteam UK), British Tugowners Association Ev 117 List of written evidence 1 Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames Ev 1 2 Captain Scott Newton, Master of the Woolwich Ferry Ev 6 3 Thames Waterman and Lighterman’s Practitioners’ Committee Ev 10 4 Supplementary memorandum from the Transport on Water Association Ev 23 5 Supplementary memorandum from the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames Ev 24 6 Supplementary memorandum from the Thames Waterman and Lighterman’s Practitioners’ Committee Ev 25 7 Further supplementary memorandum from the Thames Waterman and Lighterman’s Practitioners’ Committee Ev 26 8 Inland Waterways Association Ev 27 9 Supplementary memorandum from the Inland Waterways Association Ev 34 10 Further supplementary memorandum from the Inland Waterways Association Ev 35 11 Further supplementary memorandum from the Inland Waterways Association Ev 35 12 Commercial Boat Owners Association Ev 36 13 Association of Inland Shipping Operators Ev 38 14 Supplementary memorandum from the Association of Inland Shipping Operators Ev 50 15 Marchioness Action Group Ev 51 16 National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) Ev 57 17 United Kingdom Maritime Pilots’ Association Ev 60 18 Transport and General Workers Union Ev 61 19 Port of London Authority Ev 73 20 Supplementary memorandum from the Port of London Authority Ev 88 21 Department for Transport Ev 95 22 Further memorandum from the Department for Transport Ev 103 23 Supplementary memorandum from the Department for Transport, Ev 111 24 Supplementary memorandum from Dr Stephen Ladyman, Minister of State, Department for transport Ev 112 25 British Tugowners Association Ev 115 26 The River Stour Trust Ev 122 27 Cotswold Canals Trust Ev 123 28 Fowey Harbour Commissioners Ev 124 29 Capital Pleasure Boats Ev 126 30 Mr Colin Harper Ev 127 31 United Kingdom Major Ports Group Ev 128 32 Broads Authority Ev 129 33 Transport for London Ev 131 34 Mr Ian S Owers Ev 131 35 Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Ev 132 36 River Association for Freight & Transport Ev 133 37 Westminster Party Boats LTD Ev 133 38 Mr S Cooke Ev 134 39 Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs Ev 134 3641561001 Page Type [SO] 21-05-07 22:23:38 Pag Table: COENEW PPSysB Unit: PAG1 Transport Committee: Evidence Ev 1 Oral evidence Taken before the Transport Committee on Wednesday 21 February 2007 Members present Mrs Gwyneth Dunwoody, in the Chair Mr David Clelland Mr John Leech Clive EVord Mr Lee Scott Mrs Louise Ellman Graham Stringer Mr Philip Hollobone Memorandum submitted by the Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames Executive Summary The Company of Watermen and Lightermen of the River Thames (The Company) is a statutory corporation that has been involved for many years in training and until recently Licensing Thames Watermen and Lightermen. Membership of the Company covers both working Watermen and Lightermen and their employers who own commercial craft. The Licensing has been conducted as agents for the Port of London Authority (PLA). The Licensing has passed to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on 1 January 2007 although to provide a period of grace, the PLA Watermen and Lightermen Licences remain valid until 30 June 2007 provided an application has been received by the MCA for a new national BML. Until the announcement in 2002 by the MCA that it would be introducing the new national BML, the Company and the PLA were working on improvements to the PLA Watermen and Lightermen Licence. The Company sees advantage in a national Licence that gives access to commercial work on inland waterways across the UK and Europe. In addition a national MCA BML should ease progress into the Merchant Navy training system. The Company’s support is conditional on the new national BML being a stepping stone to an integrated national training, qualification and licensing scheme for commercial vessel crews. 1. Introduction 1.1 The Company is a statutory corporation governed by Act of Parliament in 1857. Members of the Company are the persons it has admitted to the Freedom of the Company, namely Journeymen Freemen who are Watermen and Lightermen qualified to work commercially on the River Thames and Craft Owning Freemen, namely persons who own a commercial vessel or have some other strong association with the Company and/or the River Thames. 1.2 The Company was originally founded by Act of Parliament in 1555. The lightermen of the River joined the Company in 1700. The Company has its own Hall and oYces at 16 St Mary-at-Hill in the City of London. 2. Licensing Activities Until 1January 2007 2.1 The Company licensed and regulated Watermen (who carry passengers) and Lightermen (who carry cargo) on the River Thames until 1908 when the regulation of the Thames was passed to the PLA. The PLA appointed the Company its agent to continue the statutory duty of licensing Watermen and Lightermen on the River Thames. In addition to licensing, the Company has from its origins supervised the apprenticing and training of young people and providing them with the professional education in order to qualify for a Licence. 2.2 The Company is the Trustee of a Charity known as The Philip Henman Foundation established to assist the training and education of young people who intend to make their career on or by the River Thames. 3641561001 Page Type [E] 21-05-07 22:23:38 Pag Table: COENEW PPSysB Unit: PAG1 Ev 2 Transport Committee: Evidence 3. The Academic and Other Qualifications Required for Watermen and Lightermen 3.1 The Company trains both apprentices and mature students (together called Trainees). Trainees are drawn from a wide range of backgrounds. The Company also benefits from a strong desire from children of Journeymen Freemen to follow their family members onto the River. Approximately half the Company’s Trainees are from River Families and the other half having little or no family connections with the River. There tends to be more apprentices from River Families and more mature students with no previous River connections.