Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) sponsored and (b) non-sponsored workers had been granted permission to work on offshore wind projects in UK waters under the Immigration (Offshore Worker Notification and Exemption from Control (Amendment)) Regulations 2023 by 27 October 2025.
Answered by Mike Tapp - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The information requested is not currently available from published statistics, and the relevant data could only be collated and verified for the purpose of answering this question at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if she will set out the statutory limits on seafarers’ hours of work and rest when employed on Workboats over 200 gross tonnage in UK territorial waters.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Merchant Shipping (Maritime Labour Convention) (Hours of Work) Regulations 2018 apply to all sea-going commercially operated vessels, including workboats over 200 gross tonnage operating in UK territorial waters. These set the minimum hours of rest as
(a) 10 hours in any 24-hour period; and
(b) 77 hours in any 7-day period.
The 10 hours of rest in (a) may be divided into no more than two periods, one of which is to be at least six hours in length.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many flag state inspections of commercial workboats for compliance with the Maritime Labour Convention have been carried out by organisations certified by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in each year since 2016.
Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
These inspections are delegated to the Certifying Authorities, and as such the Maritime and Coastguard Agency do not hold that data directly.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department made of the potential barriers that prevent disabled people from accessing lifesaving medical equipment.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
Integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning services to meet the health needs of their local population, and responsibility for providing medical equipment to disabled people typically falls to the National Health Service and local authorities.
We expect ICBs to follow guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). In 2022, NICE published relevant guidance in relation to children, which is available at the following link:
Local authorities in England have a statutory duty, including under the Care Act 2014, to make arrangements for the provision of disability aids and community equipment to meet the assessed eligible needs of individuals who are resident in their area. Responsibility for managing the market for these services, including commissioning and oversight of delivery, rests with local authorities.
More broadly, the Government wants disabled people’s access to, and experience of, healthcare services to be equitable, effective, and responsive to their needs. Our 10-Year Health Plan for England sets out to tackle health inequalities, and specifically identifies disabled people as a priority group for neighbourhood health teams, which will offer more holistic on-going support.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on local authorities’ ability to refuse harmful alcohol licenses.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any potential reforms on the ability of licensing authorities to refuse licences where they have concerns within the scope of the current licensing regime. The Government, however, intends there to be no reduction in the existing safeguards relating to public safety, prevention of crime and disorder, public nuisance and protection of children.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on rapid round-the-clock alcohol delivery.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Delivery of alcohol to consumers, for example as a result of online purchasing, is part of the off-trade, i.e. sales from supermarkets, off-licences and online retailers. The focus of the government’s reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on levels of alcohol-related (a) deaths and (b) harm.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system. No assessment has yet been made of the impact of any reforms on alcohol-related deaths or harm. Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) community safety and (b) levels of anti-social behaviour.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.
The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of his proposed licensing reforms on (a) on trade and (b) off trade sales.
Answered by Kate Dearden - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government is inviting views and evidence to inform the development of a modern, proportionate and enabling licensing system, building on the work of the Licensing Taskforce earlier in the year.
A Call for Evidence is currently open until 6 November in order to gather views and evidence to inform proposals for reforms to licensing. This is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/reforming-the-licensing-system.
Any legislative changes will be subject to an impact assessment, consultation and parliamentary scrutiny. No impact assessment has yet been undertaken.
The focus of the reforms will be the on-trade, with the aim of supporting the hospitality sector and members of the public who enjoy cafes, restaurants, pubs and nightclubs as well as entertainment and late night refreshment premises. Any changes will be designed to have no, or negligible, impact on the off-trade.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the funding arrangements are for the (a) Department for Transport Operator Limited and (b) transfer of staff from Rail Service, Rail Strategy and Reform and Corporate Delivery.
Answered by Simon Lightwood - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
Department for Transport Operator Limited (formerly DfT OLR Holding Limited) is the government’s public sector rail owning group and is currently funded by charging its train operating company subsidiaries for services provided but also by dividends when received. The Department for Transport will be able to confirm future funding arrangements for Department for Transport Operator Limited in due course.