Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Baggy Shanker
Main Page: Baggy Shanker (Labour (Co-op) - Derby South)Department Debates - View all Baggy Shanker's debates with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Productivity and Economic Growth: East Midlands
Baggy Shanker Excerpts(1 day, 11 hours ago)
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Baggy Shanker (Derby South) (Lab/Co-op)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this important debate. I refer the House to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests with respect to Rolls-Royce.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: in Derby we are a proud city of makers. We have more Elizabeth line trains on the production line at Alstom. We have Rolls-Royce aerospace and nuclear powering today, and our next generation, in the skies and at sea. We have a brilliant community of over 6,000 small and medium-sized enterprises such as Huub and Mercian Cycles, which I joined yesterday in supporting Greg James as he passed through Derby on Radio 1’s “Longest Ride”.
Our local economy is full steam ahead, powering our region, our nation and, indeed, the world. With Derbyshire having more than double the national average number of people employed in advanced manufacturing, the talent in our city and region keeps our country moving and safeguards our national security. In recent years, the Government have committed to backing the city’s capabilities. Last year, the Ministry of Defence confirmed £9 billion of funding for Rolls-Royce through the Unity contract to deliver the next generation of AUKUS nuclear submarines, creating up to 1,000 jobs and safeguarding 4,000 more.
Recently, I welcomed the Railways Bill, which will let us crack on with making Derby the home of Great British Railways and setting up its headquarters in the heart of our city centre. Whether it is trains, planes or reactors for advanced nuclear submarines, we are proud of what we make in Derby, but for far too long our residents have not felt that benefit in the home of UK manufacturing. Our city is powering advanced manufacturing, but at the same time the majority of kids in Arboretum—where I was born—are growing up in poverty.
We build the trains that keep our country moving, but our region has consistently had the lowest transport investment of any nation or region. When industry in our city grows, residents rightly expect to share the benefits of that growth. That is why, backed by this Government and our brilliant mayor, Claire Ward, we are cracking on with setting up Team Derby. That is also thanks to the enormous help of the Minister here today. Through Team Derby, we will ensure that every single pound of investment flowing into our city works as hard as possible to deliver for the people of our city.