Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Gavin Newlands
Main Page: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)Department Debates - View all Gavin Newlands's debates with the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy
Gavin Newlands Excerpts(3 years, 9 months ago)
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Kwasi Kwarteng
My hon. Friend is quite right. The UK Government are absolutely committed not only to the manufacturing of these critically important batteries, but to recycling. We want to see a circular economy for electric vehicles. If we attain that, we will surely maximise the economic and environmental opportunities of the transition to zero emission vehicles.
Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP) [V]
We of course welcome ending new petrol and diesel car sales by 2030, but we are dismayed by the absence of a UK Government strategy to support the industry to transition, meaning that this factory’s business model is under threat.
More widely, we have heard great rhetoric from this Government on electric vehicles, but the action is lagging. For example, we have seen nothing from the £3 billion zero emission bus fund, while the Scottish Government power ahead. When will a sustainable strategy be delivered to support factories like Ellesmere Port to not only survive but thrive?
Kwasi Kwarteng
We are absolutely committed to that. When I was energy Minister, people like the hon. Member were saying, “When is the energy White Paper going to come out? What is the plan?” We have a 10-point plan, which has been widely accepted and welcomed. We also have an energy White Paper that sets out the path and we are developing strategies for how we get to net zero at a record pace. The Government are delivering. We have a very clear direction, and the industry has broadly welcomed that.