I was saddened to see the tragic news of the fire at the Gordon Club last week. It was devastating to the whole community that two people sadly lost their lives. John McCartney, 60, and 70-year-old Philip Townsend, known locally as Tony sadly lost their lives and my thoughtsare with their families and friends at this sad time.
On behalf of everyone in Morecambe and Lunesdale I want to thank all of the fantastic emergency services who attended the fire on Tuesday and who protected as many people as possible from the fire.
Last week the Government announced a major funding boost to schools across Lancashire. Schools across Lancashire will receive 4.34% more funding per pupil next year as part of the recent multi billion pounds investment in Primary and Secondary Education. As part of this boost the commitment that every secondary school pupil will receive a minimum of £5,000 next year and every primary school pupil will receive a minimum of £4,000 by 2021-22 will reassure parents across Morecambe and Lunesdale that the Government are delivering the deliver the best for their children.
This extra funding will make a real impact to schools across Morecambe and Lunesdale and will make sure that funding is fairer across different schools. Schools who have maybe been receiving less funding historically will be receiving the same funding under the new funding. This means that some of our local schools will receive an increase higher than the Lancashire average. The per pupil led funding will increase by 6.08% at St Peter’s School in Heysham, by 7.02% at Sandylands School, 7.73% at Torrisholme Primary School and 6.9% at Westgate Primary School. I am sure all the schools locally will be welcoming and increase in their funding.
On Thursday, annual business statistics showed that there are 200,000 more businesses in this country than last year, as we continue to make Britain the best place in the world to set up, run and grow a business. These statistics also showed that since 2010 142,300 businesses have been set up in the North West, which shows how creative we can be in the North West when the Government creates an environment which allows businesses to flourish.
I am always keen to help businesses in Morecambe and Lunesdale who want to export to different countries by putting them in touch with the Department of Trade experts for the countries they want to access. If you are a business thinking of exporting but would like more help and support please do contact me so I can help.
This coming week will be crucial for the Country and we could be voting on a new deal by the end of the week. When writing this on Monday evening the Government are negotiating some new terms with the EU and I await the outcome of these at the EU Council. I want to assure you all that I would prefer to leave the EU with a deal and if a new deal is secured I will vote for it and hope that the rest of Parliament will too. I am fully supporting Brexit and if this final deal fails then I will support no deal. People voted to leave and we have a democratic mandate to leave, I do not support any attempts to block Brexit and I have voted to leave at every opportunity in the House. I will continue to use my vote to ensure we leave.
If you are a constituent and would like my help with an issue, please do not hesitate to contact me. You can do so either by email on david.morris.mp@parliament.uk or by phone 01524 841225. Please make sure you include your full postal address.