Lord Austin of Dudley
Main Page: Lord Austin of Dudley (Non-affiliated - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Lord Austin of Dudley's debates with the Leader of the House
(5 years, 1 month ago)
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Andrea Leadsom
The hon. Gentleman raises a really serious issue. I am very sorry to hear about the problems that his constituent has had. Health questions are on 26 March, and I encourage him to raise the matter directly with Ministers then.
Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Ind)
Can we have a debate on the urgent need to bring new hi-tech industries and highly skilled jobs to areas such as the Black Country that have lost their traditional industries? This would enable me to set out the case to develop in Dudley not just a new institute of technology, but a hi-tech campus to provide more apprenticeships, degrees and better-paid, secure jobs in areas such as low-carbon technologies, advanced manufacturing, digital technologies, autonomous vehicles, very light rail, computing and software development.
Andrea Leadsom
I commend the hon. Gentleman for standing up for Dudley, as he absolutely would do. As part of the UK’s industrial strategy, we have already agreed 10 sector deals with a range of industries including the aerospace, construction and offshore wind sectors. These deals bring together Government, industry and researchers to ensure that we can build on our success and exploit future opportunities. The Government are doing their bit, sector by sector, to promote the huge opportunities that lie ahead, and I encourage the hon. Gentleman to seek an Adjournment debate so that he can talk to Ministers about the opportunities for Dudley.