The Minister for Energy and Clean Growth (Claire Perry)
May I start by congratulating the hon. Member for Dagenham and Rainham (Jon Cruddas) on securing a really important debate, the subject of which is very much front and centre of the discussions that we are having with industry and with colleagues across the parties? We are all trying to deal with the conundrum of how we move to a lower-emission, cleaner-air future without causing harm to an industry that, as we know, has been hugely successful.
I share in and amplify the tribute that the hon. Gentleman paid to the men and women of the Dagenham plant. The industry employs 170,000 people, who have delivered a highly productive sector and good industrial relations. Its exports in 2016 were the highest we have ever seen, and of course we absolutely want that to continue. As the hon. Gentleman said, Ford has been a good partner to the UK through times of peace and war, and remains an absolute cornerstone of our automotive landscape.
I also pay tribute to my hon. Friend the Member for Solihull (Julian Knight), who spoke up for his constituency, my hon. Friend the Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), with whom I have discussed this issue many times, and my hon. Friend the Member for Daventry (Chris Heaton-Harris) who cannot speak here, yet speaks up so eloquently for his constituents in Daventry. A really important group of people have come together today.
I want to provide some reassurances and a sense of where we are going in the future. This is a concerning time. Auto companies right across the country ask us, “What does this future transition look like?” Of course, the engines made at the plant in the constituency of the hon. Member for Dagenham and Rainham are almost all destined for export; they go into Transits that I believe are assembled in Turkey. There is a Europe-wide question about the future.
It is right that we are working really closely with the industry through the Automotive Council and the company. The Secretary of State and the Prime Minister have met senior management regularly to understand the future strategic direction that the company sees itself taking in the UK. We want to reassure the company that, as well as the technical transition that I will discuss later, the Government are really working with the industry in a way we have never seen before, through the industry strategy. We are co-investing with industry through, for example, the Faraday challenge to ensure that we take a leadership position in new technology. We are also working out what more we can do on a research and development basis to go forward together.
Ford has demonstrated time and again its commitment to manufacturing in Britain by regularly upgrading its investment. It is quite right that we use opportunities such as this debate to reassure the company and the hon. Gentleman’s constituents that we understand this transition and that we are not trying to demonise diesel. I will explain that a little more later.
We have set out our aspirations in the clean growth strategy for a lower-carbon future and in the clean air proposals that the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is bringing forward, because it is clear that we have to tackle this problem in a sensible way. The dash for diesel that the hon. Gentleman mentioned was encouraged by the scientific evidence at the time, but it has resulted in some consequences, particularly in the least well-off parts of the country, where there are unacceptable air quality issues in playgrounds and gardens and on balconies. It is absolutely right that we work out how to create cleaner air for our families and children, and the hon. Gentleman mentioned work that is being led locally on that.
It is right that the Government continue to be on the front foot in their support for ultra-low emissions vehicles. The hon. Gentleman mentioned the Budget, in which the Chancellor announced the plug-in car grant, investments in electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the £246 million that the Government are making available over four years to co-invest with industry so that we can own and create the best manufacturing base for where the world is going, which is towards having a fleet of ultra-low emissions vehicles. This country does not want to be making the last diesel engine ever sold in Europe. We want the men and women of the Dagenham plants and plants around the country to have the investment and skills to lead the manufacturing of a new generation of cars. Of course, we already make one in five electric vehicles sold in Europe.[Official Report, 2 May 2018, Vol. 640, c. 3MC.]
The 2040 target—to have no new vehicles on the roads that are not ultra-low emissions vehicles—was carefully discussed and delivered with the industry to give it sufficient time to adapt and to make the transition calmly. We have committed substantial funds to future technology, but we are equally committing funds to the current technology. For example, we have committed more than £1 billion to the Advanced Propulsion Centre over 10 years. As the hon. Gentleman says—he may be a right hon. Gentleman, so I hope he will forgive me if I have got that wrong—this is about how we adapt to the diesel engines of today. [Interruption.] Well, perhaps he will be a right hon. Gentleman one day.
This is about how we invest, within the guidelines that the EU has rightly brought forward, to create the next generation of much cleaner diesel. The point was made that this needs to be tested in a real-world environment. My concern is that consumers have lost confidence in diesel because they sometimes feel that the companies have not been straight with them about emissions. It is right that we have a medium-term investment strategy to create the lowest possible emissions from diesel engines, but we must also work with the industry to migrate these engines in the future.
Since we put in place the 2040 target and made it clear what we think the direction of travel is, we have had a whole series of positive announcements from auto companies in the UK that are reaffirming their commitment to manufacture here. PSA-Vauxhall said two weeks ago that it is going to reinvest in the Luton plant to build the Vivaro from 2019. Toyota announced in February that it is going to build the next-generation Auris at the Burniston plant. Nissan says that it is going to spend half a billion pounds in Sunderland to secure the future of the factory there. BMW has chosen Oxford as the place where it is going to manufacture its electric Mini.
We have seen a very big and ongoing increase in automotive investment. From working with the industry and representatives of the Automotive Council, it is clear that these companies understand, both in Europe and globally, that the world is going towards a much more low-emissions future, as is absolutely right. I would submit that we are probably one of the most front-footed Governments in working with industry to drive this transition. Again, I refer to the investments we have made through the Faraday challenge and in the Advanced Propulsion Centre.
To give the hon. Gentleman some reassurance, there is no demonising of diesel. There is a calm reflection that ultimately we have to phase out polluting fossil fuels over several decades, giving companies time to plan their models and invest in their production lines. He is right to pay tribute to the workforce—the men and women who work so hard in these factories and have delivered a superb success for British manufacturing —and I join him in doing so. People who say we do not make things here should go and visit the auto plants in his constituency, or the plants in Swindon near mine, to see what the workforce has delivered. We want those jobs to be maintained. We want this investment to continue. Ultimately, we all want that to result in cleaner air for our children and our grandchildren in future.
Question put and agreed to.