Royal Naval Deployment: Mediterranean
Debate between Michael Fallon and David Nuttall(8 years, 4 months ago)
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Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
Does my right hon. Friend agree that the fact that NATO has had to be called upon to protect the Greek border is further evidence that the European Union is incapable of securing its own borders? Does he also agree that people would be well advised to bear that in mind when they vote in the referendum on 23 June?
Michael Fallon
My hon. Friend and I might not agree on everything that people should have to bear in mind when it comes to the referendum. Both Greece and Turkey are members of NATO, and that is why I think that this mission has a greater chance of success under NATO’s auspices. I hope that other countries will join the mission and, despite what my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) said earlier, I hope that there will be a successful outcome to the discussions in Brussels today and that the European Union will rise to the challenge of coping with what is a quite extraordinary migration crisis.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Michael Fallon and David Nuttall(10 years ago)
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Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
On the issue of new EU legislation, does my right hon. Friend agree that it would benefit British business if the EU adopted the same one-in, two-out rule that the UK Government apply?
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Michael Fallon)
It is encouraging that the one-in, two-out rule, or the one-in, one-out rule, is increasingly being adopted by other member states, including France and Spain. I shall visit Brussels next month to urge the Commission to redouble its efforts to remove unnecessary directives, and to make sure that where new directives are proposed, they fully take account of the needs of small businesses, which are most likely to create the jobs we need in Europe.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Michael Fallon and David Nuttall(10 years, 6 months ago)
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Michael Fallon
I would be very happy to meet the hon. Gentleman and, indeed, a delegation from that group when they come down to this place. He will know about the significant investment that has gone into Sellafield through the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. Obviously, we want to see what prospects there are for continuing that work.
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
In order to reassure constituents of mine who are concerned about fracking for shale gas, will my right hon. Friend please set out the range of licences and regulatory approvals any company will have to have in place before it can extract shale gas?
Michael Fallon
The regulatory road map we published in December makes it clear that any developer must have a licence from the Department; planning permission from the local minerals authority; the necessary permits from the Environment Agency; authorisation from the Health and Safety Executive that its method of fracturing is safe and poses no threat to the environment; and, finally, consent from my Department to proceed.
Oral Answers to Questions
Debate between Michael Fallon and David Nuttall
Michael Fallon
My hon. Friend will know that we have doubled the small business rate relief for the past three and a half years, which has helped more than 500,000 businesses. In the Growth and Infrastructure Act 2013, we postponed the revaluation to give businesses more certainty—a larger number of them were forecast to lose under the revaluation than would have gained.
Mr David Nuttall (Bury North) (Con)
Does the Minister agree that the prospects for our high streets would be a lot rosier if local authorities did more to encourage motorists into our town centres by reducing parking charges?
Michael Fallon
I agree with my hon. Friend. We must get the balance right. It is important that local authorities do not freeze trade out of their local high streets. One action we have taken following the Portas review is to encourage local authorities to look at the total local economy and ensure that there are not undue restrictions on encouraging people to come into the high street.