Tag: David Morris

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how much funding his Department has allowed to arts groups in the Morecambe and Lunesdale constituency in each of the last three years.

Mr Edward Vaizey

Morecambe and Lunesdale has enjoyed record levels of funding over the past three years – £105,182 in 2013/14; £164,390 in 2014/15; and £321,295 in 2015/16 (year to date to 7th March).

This investment from Arts Council England has supported a number of exciting projects, including Lancaster Arts Partnership First Fridays, the Mirrored Minds Research and Development project.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department plans to introduce maternity pay for self-employed women; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The Government has continued to improve the support and flexibility of parental pay and leave, spending around £3 billion a year on maternity payments to support pregnant women and new mothers and to help them achieve a better balance between their work and home lives.

Self-employed mothers can receive Maternity Allowance. The standard rate of Maternity Allowance is the same as the standard rate of Statutory Maternity Pay.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2015-11-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that crustaceans being sold in UK retail or wholesale premises are not still alive and sealed in plastic bags.

George Eustice

There are no proposals to introduce controls on the packing of live crustaceans for purposes of animal welfare. The UK Sea Fish Industry Authority advises they should be handled carefully, stored at consistent temperatures, not allowed to dry out and never dropped. Lobsters should be kept cool and if wrapped, perforated material should be used.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps are being taken to improve the mutual supply chain of goods and services between the Mount Pleasant Military Base and small and medium-sized enterprises and the Chamber of Commerce in the Falkland Islands.

Mr Philip Dunne

The Secretary of State discussed these issues with the Chamber of Commerce and local businesses when he visited the Falkland Islands in February. British Forces South Atlantic Islands (BFSAI) will continue to work with the local commercial sector, including the Falkland Islands Chamber of Commerce, to develop opportunities for local supply of good and services including by small and medium-sized enterprises, within the legal and regulatory constraints that govern the Ministry of Defence’s commercial activity. For example, we have recently put in place arrangements for the supply of locally generated renewable energy to BFSAI and to employ local companies for infrastructure work.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-15.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has made an assessment as to how much the abolition of class 2 national insurance contributions will save on average for each self-employed person; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

The abolition of Class 2 NICs means that 3.4 million self-employed individuals will gain by an average of £134 in 2018-19 when Class 2 National Insurance contributions are abolished. This will allow millions of self-employed individuals to keep more of their money and invest it back into growing their business, as well as ending an outdated and complex feature of the NICs system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2015-11-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what steps she is taking to prevent shale gas drilling at the surface in areas of the greatest environmental value.

Andrea Leadsom

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Southampton Test on 11 November 2015 to Written Parliamentary Question 15221:

http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-11-06/15221.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what her policy is on proposals for a tidal lagoon or barrage in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.

Andrea Leadsom

The Government remains open to considering well-developed, privately funded tidal lagoon or barrage proposals across the UK’s bay and estuaries, including in the Lancaster and Morecambe area.

Any tidal range project would need to demonstrate strong evidence of value for money and affordable, economic benefits, energy saving and environmental impact mitigation before the Government could take a view on its potential.

On 10 February, the Government announced an independent review to assess the case for tidal lagoons and consider whether they could represent value for money for the consumer.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-04-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if his Department has made an assessment of how much it costs on average to fill an individual pothole; and if he will make a statement.

Andrew Jones

The Department for Transport has estimated that on average it costs £53 to repair a pothole. However, the cost of filling an individual pothole will depend on a range of variables including geography, the type of road and whether the repair is temporary or permanent.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-02-09.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on the effects of offshore windfarms on the national habitats of migrating whales, seals and porpoises.

George Eustice

The Joint Cetacean Protocol (JCP) is the most comprehensive information source available on whales and porpoises in the UK. Information from the JCP is used to inform assessments of the effects of offshore windfarms on marine mammals. The information was also used to help assess the status of marine mammals as set out in the UK’s Marine Strategy Part One in 2012.

The assessment brought together a significant body of information on the distribution, abundance, trends, and status of whales, porpoises, and seals in UK waters, and a consideration of the pressures they face, including from renewable energy development. The Marine Strategy Part One concluded that the status for the five most abundant cetacean species in UK waters was ‘favourable’. Seals face a number of pressures in the UK, although where localised declines have been identified these have not been attributed to offshore wind farms. Further information can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/marine-strategy-part-one-uk-initial-assessment-and-good-environmental-status.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Morris on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what progress she has made on the type approval of modular nuclear reactors.

Andrea Leadsom

Any nuclear reactor or facility proposed for deployment in the UK will be subject to robust and independent regulatory scrutiny.

Therefore, any small modular reactor design proposed for construction would undergo safety, security and environmental design assessment. A reactor design would only be allowed to progress if the independent regulator was satisfied it was compliant with the UK’s stringent safety standards.