Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact on biodiversity of proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe windfarm (a) cabling corridor and (b) substations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Energy System Operator (NESO) considered the environmental impacts of the proposed Morgan and Morecambe windfarms cabling corridor and substation as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND).[1]
The developers, BP and EnBW, have submitted detailed environmental assessments addressing the impacts on biodiversity as part of the Morgan and Morecambe transmission project planning application.[2]
[1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the membership is of the motor insurance taskforce announced on 16 October 2024; and what progress the taskforce has made.
Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The cross-government Motor Insurance Taskforce is comprised of ministers from relevant government departments and the Financial Conduct Authority and Competition and Markets Authority. The taskforce is supported by a separate stakeholder panel of industry experts representing the insurance, motor, and consumer sector. The Government is committed to tackling high costs as part of our Plan for Change to raise living standards across Britain and we will provide updates on the taskforce’s work in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the area’s badger population of proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe (a) cabling corridor and (b) substations.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Energy System Operator considered the onshore and offshore impacts of the proposals for the Morgan and Morecambe windfarms cable corridor and substation on sensitive habitats as part of its Holistic Network Design.[1] Following this, the developers BP and EnBW submitted detailed environmental assessments as part of the project planning application, which include assessment of the impacts on specific species such as badgers.[2]
[1] https://www.neso.energy/publications/beyond-2030/holistic-network-design-offshore-wind
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether nursing positions for the provision of care in corridors will be advertised in Lancashire.
Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department does not hold the information requested.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve teacher (a) recruitment and (b) retention in (i) Lancashire and (ii) Fylde constituency.
Answered by Catherine McKinnell - Minister of State (Education)
The within school factor that makes the biggest difference to a young person’s educational outcome is high quality teaching. Recruiting and retaining more qualified, expert teachers is therefore critical to the government’s mission to break down barriers to opportunity and boost the life chances for every child.
This government has inherited a system with critical shortages of teachers, with numbers not keeping pace with demographic changes. That is why the government has set out the ambition to recruit 6,500 new expert teachers across our schools, both mainstream and specialist, and our colleges over the course of this Parliament, including targeting shortage subjects.
The department has made good early progress towards this key pledge by ensuring teaching is once again an attractive and respected profession, key to which is ensuring teachers receive the pay they deserve. We accepted in full the School Teachers’ Review Body’s recommendation of a 5.5% pay award for teachers and leaders in maintained schools for 2024/25. Alongside teacher pay, we have made £233 million available from the 2025/26 recruitment cycle to support teacher trainees with tax-free bursaries of up to £29,000 and scholarships of up to £31,000 in shortage subjects. The department has also expanded its school teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Every Lesson Shapes a Life’, and the further education teacher recruitment campaign, ‘Share your Skills’.
A successful recruitment strategy starts with a strong retention strategy, and new teachers of mathematics, physics, chemistry and computing will now receive a targeted retention incentive of up to £6,000, after-tax, if working in disadvantaged schools, in the first five years of their careers. There are three schools in Fylde that are eligible for targeted retention incentives.
The department is also working closely with teachers and school leaders to improve the experience of teaching. This includes introducing a new school report card in place of Ofsted’s single headline grades, to provide a clearer picture of schools’ strengths and weaknesses for parents and more proportionate accountability for staff. It also includes promoting flexible working, such as allowing planning, preparation and assessment time to be taken from home, and making key resources to support wellbeing, developed with school leaders, available to teachers.
The department is also funding bespoke support provided by flexible working ambassador schools and multi-academy trusts, to ensure schools are able to capture the benefits of flexible working whilst protecting pupils’ face-to-face teacher time. Schools can be matched with an appropriate ambassador via the national delivery provider to receive tailored peer support.
High quality continuous professional development is also key to ensuring we have and retain an effective teaching workforce. The department has established Teaching School Hubs across the country, which provide approved high quality professional development to teachers at all stages of their careers. These Hubs play a significant role in delivering initial teacher training, the early career framework, national professional qualifications and appropriate body services. Embrace Teaching School Hub is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Chorley, Fylde, South Ribble and West Lancashire. Star Teaching School Hub North West Lancashire is a centre of excellence supporting teacher training and development across Blackpool, Lancaster, Preston and Wyre.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to NHS dentistry in (a) Fylde constituency and (b) Lancashire.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to tackle the challenges for patients trying to access National Health Service dental care with a rescue plan to provide 700,000 more urgent dental appointments and recruit new dentists to the areas that need them most. To rebuild dentistry in the long term and increase access to NHS dental care, we will reform the dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists.
The responsibility for commissioning primary care services, including NHS dentistry, to meet the needs of the local population has been delegated to the integrated care boards (ICBs) across England. For the Fylde constituency, this is the NHS Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of increased long term gilt rates on Government borrowing costs.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
The government does not comment on specific financial market movements. Gilt yields are determined by a wide range of international and domestic factors, and it is normal for the price and yields of gilts to vary when there are wider movements in global financial markets.
The Chancellor has commissioned the Office for Budget Responsibility for an updated economic and fiscal forecast for the 26th of March, which will incorporate the latest data.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people were (a) arrested and (b) charged for (i) drink and (ii) drug driving in December 2024.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not held centrally by the Home Office because drunk and drug driving offences are not among the list of offences for which police forces are currently required to notify the Home Office of data on arrests, charges and outcomes.
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Autumn Budget 2024 on the number of police officers in Lancashire.
Answered by Diana Johnson - Minister of State (Home Office)
If it maintains officer numbers at the required level of 3,586 officers.
Total funding to police forces in 2025-26will be up to £17.4 billion, an increase of up to £987 million compared to the 2024-25 police funding settlement.
This includes a £657.1 million additional Government grant funding to police forces, which includes:
In addition to the force’s government grant of up to £284 million, Lancashire Police will receive £12,596,034 to directly support the maintenance of officer numbers in FY2025/26
Asked by: Andrew Snowden (Conservative - Fylde)
Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the answer of 17 December 2024 to question 19898 on Wind Power: Fylde, what account the cost assessments have taken of existing infrastructure connecting Stanah to Penwortham.
Answered by Michael Shanks - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
National Energy System Operator (NESO) recommended the transmission infrastructure required to connect Morgan and Morecambe offshore wind projects to the grid as part of its Holistic Network Design (HND). In producing the HND, NESO assessed multiple onshore and offshore design options against future generation and demand scenarios, existing infrastructure in the National Electricity Transmission System, and total capital and operational costs. NESO then used an economic optimiser to determine the optimal economic design from the options.