Department for Transport written question – answered am ar 14 Chwefror 2024.
Matthew Offord
Ceidwadwyr, Hendon
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the impact of terrorist acts by Houthi pirates in the Red Sea on ships heading to British ports.
Guy Opperman
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea are unacceptable and must stop. The Government is working closely with international partners to degrade Houthi capabilities and deter them from carrying out further attacks.
My Department is working closely with other government departments to monitor the impacts of these events. Ships can reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, and many shipping operators are choosing to do so. This has added additional time and distance to vessel journeys, which may cause some initial delays to ship arrivals at British ports. Ship operators now have mitigations in place to adjust to the changed routings, and shipping schedules are stabilising with regular services and supply of goods continuing.
Yes3 people think so
No1 person thinks not
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Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
