Oral Answers to Questions

Diana Johnson Excerpts

Tuesday 25th March 2014 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

I will certainly do that. Having been in Coventry yesterday to sign the Coventry and Warwickshire city deal, which focuses precisely on advanced manufacturing, I know that there is great recognition that the whole of the west midlands has a big opportunity to come together to ensure that the order books that are filling up can be supported by companies in the supply chain. I will take my hon. Friend’s representations on board as we negotiate the growth deals during the weeks ahead.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

5. What devolved regeneration funding will be available to areas recently granted city deals.

[The Deputy Prime Minister (Mr Nick Clegg)]

I would first like to say how delighted I am that Siemens has now confirmed its £160 million investment in wind turbine facilities at Green Port in Hull and at Paull in the East Riding. Together with an additional £150 million investment by its port partner, Associated British Ports, that development will support 1,000 new jobs in the area and demonstrates the huge economic potential of the green industry. I was delighted that the hon. Lady was able to attend the signing of the Hull and Humber city deal on 13 December, along with the Minister of State, Cabinet Office, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark). As she knows, through the city deal the Government agreed an additional £9.2 million of funding to support the growth of Hull and Humber’s economy.

[Diana Johnson]

I think that we all agree that cities are best placed to make decisions about regeneration funding and what is best for their local populations. As the Deputy Prime Minister rightly points out, a great example of that is the announcement this morning of Siemens’s investment in renewables, which means that Hull will be not only the city of culture, but the city of energy. Given that that success was made in Hull, will he congratulate, in particular, the Hull business community and Hull’s Labour council, because without them this would not have happened? Finally, does he agree that if we had listened to the climate change-denying UK Independence party, those jobs would be going abroad?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I certainly agree with the hon. Lady’s latter point. There is absolutely no way that a multinational such as Siemens would invest that amount of money if we were on the brink of pulling out of the European Union single market. I have been in several discussions with Siemens board members, as have many members of the Government, to persuade them to make that decision, and I am delighted that they have finally done so. She is quite right that Hull city council and the councils in the area—it is a triumph not only for Hull, but for the Humber area more generally—have worked together, and it has been a cross-party approach. None of that would have been successful if we had been on the brink of pulling out of the single market. That is why Siemens has continued to invest in our country.

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[The Deputy Prime Minister]

I know my hon. Friend feels strongly about that, but I hope she is also aware that there are a number of eligibility requirements when seeking to access funds from the EU solidarity fund. We have compared the damage today with the 2007 floods, and following contact with the European Commission, our assessment is that we have not met those conditions. Of course, that does not mean that there are not other avenues that we can explore. As I think she knows, we are having discussions with EU institutions such as the European Investment Bank to support the existing package of UK Government assistance, which includes £130 million for flood recovery in the south-west.

[Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab)]

T13. May I ask the Deputy Prime Minister about another of his pledges—universal free school meals for infants from September, which were pioneered in Hull but scrapped by the Liberal Democrat council when it came to power? Will he confirm whether they will be hot school meals or cold packed lunches?

[The Deputy Prime Minister]

They need to be healthy meals that are provided to all toddlers and young children in the first three years at primary school. The hon. Lady is right that that has been piloted across the country, not only in her constituency but in Durham, Newham and elsewhere, and it has been shown to provide dramatic educational benefits. Of course the majority of the meals will be hot, but we are not going to prescribe, in the centralising way that I know her party is so fond of, that they are going to be hot in every single location across 24,000 schools in our country, but they do need to be healthy, hot and freely available. That will benefit families to the tune of hundreds of pounds and boost social mobility across the country.