Oral Answers to Questions

David Morris Excerpts

Tuesday 31st January 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

The right hon. Member for Chesham and Amersham (Mrs Gillan) can always have her question framed and put up on the wall in a suitable part of her home, of her own choosing.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

T1. If he will make a statement on his departmental responsibilities.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

Since our last questions, with the Prime Minister my ministerial team and I have launched our industrial strategy Green Paper, part of a cross-Government plan to build an economy that works for everyone. Efforts to secure global investment in British enterprise and innovation continue to meet with success, with the most recent example being the £115 million Novo Nordisk investment in Oxford, which is a further vote of confidence in Britain as a place to do both business and science. Today we launch the next energy capacity market auction. Last month, I signed a memorandum of co-operation with the Government of Japan on civil nuclear activities, and on Thursday I announced that we have secured a second mission to space for Major Tim Peake.

[David Morris]

As always, my right hon. Friend has been extraordinarily busy, but may I ask my extraordinarily busy right hon. Friend to turn his attention to Morecambe and Lunesdale, as we now have a new link road going straight to the Heysham port and we would like an enterprise zone? Will he help me to get an enterprise zone?

[Greg Clark]

I am never too busy for Morecambe and Lunesdale, and I know what a passionate campaigner my hon. Friend has been for the business prospects in his area. If I may, I will talk to the Minister responsible for the northern powerhouse, who has responsibility for enterprise zones—I am sure he will be happy to have a meeting with my hon. Friend.

Hinkley Point C

David Morris Excerpts

Thursday 15th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

Of course we looked at every component part. To construct a new nuclear power station, the first for generation in this country, at no risk to the taxpayer or the bill payer is a considerable achievement and represents good value.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

This is good news for my constituency, as we are now going to have a third nuclear power station built. Good news travels fast, and I have already had the local radio station desperate to get an interview with me. I should like to congratulate the Secretary of State on all his hard work and thank him for what he has done for my constituents. Will he agree to meet me shortly to discuss how we can speed up the decisions on the five proposed reactors, and will he also help me by discussing Heysham as soon as possible?

Oral Answers to Questions

David Morris Excerpts

Tuesday 13th September 2016 Commons Chamber

[Jesse Norman]

It is widely understood that the sector needed some changes to the feed-in tariffs, because their effect was to hit consumers very hard in the pocket. These charges are paid by consumers. Let us not forget that 99% of all the solar panels installed have been installed over the past six years.

[David Morris (Morecambe and Lunesdale) (Con)]

6. What steps his Department is taking to promote innovation in all regions of the UK.

[Julian Sturdy (York Outer) (Con)]

7. What steps his Department is taking to promote innovation in all regions of the UK.

[The Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation (Joseph Johnson)]

The Government support innovation through Innovate UK, soon to be part of UK Research and Innovation, and have invested more than £1.8 billion in innovation since 2007. Innovate UK is connecting businesses to local growth through its regional managers, and local enterprise partnerships are supporting innovation through £200 million of local growth funding.

[David Morris]

As chairman of the parliamentary space committee, may I point out that the space industry has outgrown the economy by 10% all through the austerity years? However, the industry is quite worried about the issues that could be caused by Brexit, even though the European Space Agency is outside the European Union. Can the Minister give us a categorical assurance that the space industry—and the aviation industry, which is annexed to it—will not be overlooked, especially in areas such as the north-west?