Gavin Newlands
Main Page: Gavin Newlands (Scottish National Party - Paisley and Renfrewshire North)Electric Vehicle Battery Production
Gavin Newlands Excerpts(1 year, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Graham Stuart
I thank my hon. Friend, who is always championing her constituency and its interests, and emphasising the fact that yes, quite rightly, critical minerals are important, and that working with partners and trusted allies is absolutely critical. Colleagues in the Department for International Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office are absolutely alive to that and we use our posts around the world to make sure we build a consensus and a common approach. We want security not just for ourselves, but for our democratic partners too.
Gavin Newlands (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) (SNP)
Battery production and electric vehicle roll-out counts for nothing if the EV battery charging infrastructure is not adequate. England still lags well behind Scotland in its charging network. This Government have a target of 300,000 chargers by 2030. Last year, they installed just under 8,000 chargers and that was a ramp up in installation. The Government are not going to meet their target, are they?
Graham Stuart
The hon. Gentleman is right to highlight the importance of charging infrastructure. We need to do more and we need to do it faster. We are absolutely focused on delivering that.