Electric Vehicle Battery Production
Debate between Graham Stuart and Ian Lavery(1 year, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Graham Stuart
As ever in this area, I know my hon. Friend’s insights on security issues more broadly and specifically on critical minerals are well founded. The critical minerals strategy sets out our plans to improve the resilience of supply chains and increase the supply by accelerating the growth of the UK’s capabilities, as she suggested—there is a development and investment in my own constituency, at Saltend, in critical materials—as well as by collaborating with international partners and enhancing international markets to make them more responsive.
Ian Lavery (Wansbeck) (Lab)
On the benefit of clarity and accuracy, the Britishvolt site is in Wansbeck—my constituency. Will the Minister give my constituency some guarantees that the jobs promised with Britishvolt—3,000 plus a further 5,000 in the supply chain—will not be forgotten, and can he say what support he will give to any potential investor to continue a gigafactory project on the site in Cambois in my constituency?
Graham Stuart
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right that it is a fantastic site, and we will continue to work with investors and encourage them to go in that direction. As a champion of workers, he must be delighted that we have seen this transformation over the last 12 or 13 years, from the high unemployment left behind, sadly, by the Labour Government to the nearly full employment that Britain enjoys today.