Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what support they will provide to existing strategic industrial complexes as part of the delivery of the industrial strategy.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
Regional growth is a core objective of the Industrial Strategy. We will bring forward more investible sites and support city regions and clusters to attract private investment.
The Strategy reiterates our support for existing Freeports and Investment Zones. These "Industrial Strategy Zones" have huge potential, especially in key sectors including advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, life sciences, digitally enabled creative industries and defence.
Alongside the Industrial Strategy, we published an Action Plan setting out how we will enhance all our Industrial Strategy Zones with better-targeted investment promotion, support for accessing concessionary finance, and coordinated support on skills.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the importance of the secure supply of (1) critical minerals, and (2) industrial metals, to the delivery of the industrial strategy and net zero strategy.
Answered by Lord Stockwood - Minister of State (HM Treasury)
The Government is committed to safeguarding the UK's economic security and delivering on our industrial and net zero strategies. Critical minerals and industrial metals are essential for clean energy, green jobs, and future prosperity. That is why critical minerals were identified as a foundational industry to the Industrial Strategy's growth sectors.
Through the UK Critical Minerals Strategy, we are taking decisive action to strengthen domestic production, reduce overreliance on imports from any one country, and work with global partners to build resilient UK and global supply networks. We are also developing a Steel Strategy to create a competitive business environment to secure and expand UK steelmaking capability and capacity which is aligned with our Net Zero goals.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer from Baroness Jones of Whitchurch on 7 May (HL6732), when they plan to issue an updated Critical Minerals Strategy.
Answered by Lord Leong - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
Thanks to the extensive engagement and insights from our industry and expert stakeholders as well as cross-government collaboration, we have developed a powerful new vision and plan for securing critical minerals in the UK.
Following the outcome of the multi-year Spending Review and the publication of the Industrial Strategy, the Critical Minerals Strategy will be published later this year.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential importance of a UK domestic critical minerals supply strategy to underpin economic growth and the UK industrial base.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK's economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition. Building on the UK Critical Minerals Intelligence Centre’s updated criticality assessment, government will work hand in hand with industry to publish a new Critical Minerals Strategy this year.
The Strategy will refine our approach to domestic production and will be explicitly targeted to UK strengths and delivering for businesses.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the benefits of critical minerals supply from Northern Ireland to the rest of the UK.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
Whilst Government has not made an economic assessment of the benefits of critical minerals supply from any specific region to the rest of the UK, the new Critical Minerals Strategy will set out how increasing our domestic production of critical minerals in all areas of the UK will support our economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition.
As part of her industry engagement, Minister Sarah Jones MP, met with Ionic Technologies, a cutting-edge permanent magnet recycler based in Belfast, who are a real asset to critical minerals supply across the UK. The world-leading critical minerals innovation led out of Queen’s University Belfast also demonstrates how Northern Ireland can contribute to UK critical minerals supply.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to engage with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to develop a UK-wide critical minerals supply strategy.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK's economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition.
Government is engaging widely in developing the new Critical Minerals Strategy, including in partnership with the devolved governments, to make this Strategy a UK-wide effort.
The Critical Minerals Strategy will be published in 2025, aligning with the multi-year Spending Review and the new Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have engaged with the Northern Ireland Executive about critical minerals supply.
Answered by Baroness Jones of Whitchurch
A secure supply of critical minerals is vital for the UK's economic growth and security, industrial strategy, and clean energy transition.
Government is engaging widely in developing the new Critical Minerals Strategy, including in partnership with the devolved governments, to make this Strategy a UK-wide effort.
The Critical Minerals Strategy will be published in 2025, aligning with the multi-year Spending Review and the new Industrial Strategy.
Asked by: Baroness Northover (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government which department the minister with responsibility for critical minerals will be based in; and when the Critical Minerals Strategy announced in 2022 will be updated as planned.
Answered by Lord Johnson of Lainston
The Department with lead responsibility for critical minerals is the Department for Business and Trade. The Government is planning to publish a refreshed approach to the Critical Minerals Strategy in Spring this year to reinforce the 2022 Strategy, highlight delivery progress to date, and set out upcoming delivery milestones.