Cost of Energy: Ceramics Sector

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 17th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

The small but mighty city of Stoke-on-Trent is the home of our country’s outstanding ceramics manufacturing industry. Its rich history and heritage in ceramics played a leading role in the United Kingdom’s industrial revolution, putting our great city on the map around the world. It is important to point out that the term “ceramics” covers not just the important tableware and giftware sector but bricks, clay roof tiles and pipes, wall and floor tiles, sanitary ware, refractories—critical to manufacturing steel and glass among other items—and advanced technical ceramics used in everything from aerospace to medicine.

In Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, we have world-class ceramics businesses such as Churchill China, Steelite, Burleigh, Moorcroft and Johnson Tiles, to name a few. They all welcome the energy bill relief scheme, but I worry that energy-intensive ceramics businesses will still face crippling energy bills if prices spike next winter or sooner.

[Aaron Bell (Newcastle-under-Lyme) (Con)]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend and neighbour for giving way. Next door, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, we do not have quite as many firms as in Stoke-on-Trent, but we do have Silverdale Bathrooms and Ibstock Brick, which makes bricks in Chesterton. They have both come to me because they are also worried about the potential for energy prices to go back up if support is not there in the future. We all hope that the increase in energy prices is temporary. Does it not make sense—I am sure that he will come to this—for the Government to shepherd our companies through the war in Ukraine and this period of difficult energy times so that they can continue to provide jobs for our constituents for many years to come?

[Jonathan Gullis]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who is an incredible champion for the people of Newcastle-under-Lyme and the ceramics sector, as well as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton), who is sat behind me—he was made in Stoke-on-Trent, born and bred, and is the heartbeat of our city. It is great to be surrounded by such supportive colleagues. My hon. Friend the Member for Newcastle-under-Lyme (Aaron Bell) is correct to say that as support will decrease from April onwards, there is a fear that, if prices were to go back up, while companies may be receiving good orders, they would be left with unaffordable bills. Wages are also having to be increased massively just to retain staff, let alone manage the recruitment crisis that the sector presently faces.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

I commend the hon. Gentleman on bringing forward the debate. I always like to come and support him, as he does me.

There is a local, independently owned ceramics businesses named Eden Pottery in my constituency. Some of its ceramics and pottery were used during the October season of “The Great British Bake Off”, so it has a bit of prominence. There has been recent news that the £150 payment will be distributed to small and medium-sized businesses at the end of February, but in some cases energy prices are trebling, so that will not really make a dent—I guess that that is what the hon. Gentleman is referring to. Does he agree that a greater assessment must be undertaken on the impact of that payment, and that additional funding really needs to be found as soon as possible?

[Jonathan Gullis]

I am grateful to the hon. Member, who is a really good friend. It is incredible that Strangford finds a way of linking itself to every single one of our constituencies across the House, and it could not be better served than by him; he is a doughty champion. I look forward to exchanging some pottery with him in the near future so that we can share in our fine ceramics. He is indeed correct to make the point about the cost implications of rising gas prices and the danger to small, medium and large firms, which could see lots of jobs lost if support goes earlier than it should do.

[Jack Brereton (Stoke-on-Trent South) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. The ceramics sector has not received the level of support that many other energy-intensive sectors have to help with the transition and decarbonisation. Does he agree that, given that 97% of businesses in the ceramics industry are SMEs, the ceramics sector really needs a dedicated pot of funding from the Government to invest in the transition and in improving energy efficiency measures?

[Jonathan Gullis]

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his fantastic words. He is indeed correct to say that the ceramics industry has already put about half a billion pounds of its own money into decarbonisation and energy efficiency. I totally agree and understand that steel is important to this nation’s history as well as its future, but ceramics are just as important. Ceramics are in our mobile phones, and our kneecaps in some cases, as well as in the aerospace adventures we want to see—aeroplane engines literally would not fly without the ceramic film that goes around them. Ceramics are so important, with about 20,000 jobs across our United Kingdom dependent on them, so I hope we will see some support for them. The chase to net zero is fine, but we cannot do it by damaging the ceramics sector. We want to remain competitive with the world while China continues to dump its cheap, unruly products on our country unfairly. Thankfully, we are protected by tariffs for now—we need a longer-term commitment to them—but we also need the carbon border scheme and adjustments to ensure that we are competitive with mainland Europe. I totally concur with my hon. Friend.

On average, gas is roughly 10% of the cost of manufacturing a plate. However, companies are currently exposed to gas costs five times what they were for many years and have seen gas prices hit 20 times the previous normal cost. Companies should, of course, aim to build some resilience into their processes, but that kind of market fluctuation is beyond anything they could reasonably have planned for. Regrettably, businesses will certainly be put at a disadvantage because of the rapid and staggering rise in energy prices. Increased energy costs could have a significant impact on local businesses that do so much for the community. I want to ensure that the UK Government are acutely aware of the impact the cost of energy is having on UK ceramics and get a commitment from them that they will do all they can to protect it.

First, it is vital to point out the significance of the ceramics industry. As a proud Member of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, an area that is hugely proud of the ceramics industry, I want to point out the ceramics industry’s centrality to both the national and local economies. The UK ceramics industry employs around 20,000 people. It is a crucial part of Stoke-on-Trent. Johnson Tiles, established in 1901, made over half of the 888,246 ceramic poppies for the Tower of London, commemorating all British and colonial servicemen who died in the first world war, and employs over 200 people in Stoke-on-Trent.

The UK ceramics industry contributes around £2 billion to the UK economy, which really does mean that ceramics are one of our country’s last great exports. The British Ceramic Confederation, which represents over 90% of UK ceramic manufacturers and whose chief executive is Rob Flello, estimates that the ceramic industry exports around £600 million a year. We use the world-leading products designed by companies such as Steelite, Churchill China and Burleigh in this place, in the Members’ Dining Room and Portcullis House, to name just a few. The very tiles on the floor just down the corridor in Central Lobby, at the very centre of our great democracy, are from Stoke-on-Trent. Sadly, it is a constant source of irritation and frustration to me that there are not anywhere near enough Stoke-on-Trent-made ceramics in Government Departments. Therefore, one of my first initiatives in my brief stint at the Department for Education was to ensure all tableware in my ministerial office was made in Stoke-on-Trent. I am very proud that my former private office in the Department for Education now proudly boasts its cups and saucers.

Not only does the UK ceramics industry clearly play a crucial role in both the national and local economies, but it is impossible to understand enough the emotional significance of this historic industry. For the people of Stoke-on-Trent and wider north Staffordshire, the ceramics industry is a source of immense pride. Local manufacturers are being priced out of the market by companies overseas in places such as China. This is, of course, at huge expense of the end product’s quality, as we all know that “Made in Stoke-on-Trent” is a sign of excellence.

The ceramics industry is an immensely energy-intensive industry. As such, Putin’s abhorrent, illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine in February of last year has had a demonstrable impact on the industry. Gas prices have caused considerable instability in the ceramics industry, which is traditionally used to very reasonable energy prices. The base rate for wholesale gas prices is now £1.62, which is four times its stable average before February 2022.

Research by UK ceramics manufacturers suggests that productivity costs are exponentially higher—the average is 47% higher—in addition to an enormous increase in the price of energy. Again, research points to a staggering increase in costs, this time of around 400%. The UK has been hit especially hard by the global energy crisis, and our ceramics manufacturers have significantly higher overheads. By contrast with the UK, average price increases for overseas factories are only 29%. All this means that the sales volumes of ceramics manufacturers in Stoke-on-Trent are impacted and they struggle to compete against imported competition from cheap-labour countries such as China and European countries with far more generous support packages.

The shocking increases in prices meant that the Government’s previous energy relief scheme was so important for the ceramic industry and Stoke-on-Trent’s leading ceramics businesses. One manufacturer told me that over the winter months the scheme saved them an estimated £4 million, giving them a huge boost in these turbulent times. In times of global instability, the scheme has allowed our first-class manufactures to remain competitive, keeping their high-quality products on the market and on our shelves.

I welcome that the new scheme from April seems to include UK ceramics manufacturing, but overall it is still going to have a significant impact on manufactures’ overheads and thus competitiveness. In places such as Spain and Italy, which is a major competitor country on ceramics, their major ceramics businesses are being underwritten and helped to cope with energy costs. UK ceramics also struggle to compete with German competitors, which have electricity rates that are 38% lower.

For UK ceramics manufacturers to be most competitive, we need a level of support similar to that for, or at parity with, European businesses. This will ensure that the ceramics industry, the jewel in the crown of our great country’s manufacturing, is able to prosper well into the future. One way we could do this is to consider getting rid of regulations in order to make it easier for UK ceramics manufacturing sites to be regenerated. We could thereby drastically improve the short and long-term prospects of UK ceramics. Furthermore, we can point to other manufacturing industries such as textiles and plastics that are also struggling. If we cannot and do not support these industries, the UK will be far less competitive and, crucially, it will deter foreign investment. This puts skilled jobs at risk, not just in Stoke-on-Trent but throughout the country.

I must put on the record the devious behaviour of some energy suppliers that have sought to use never-before-used small-print clauses to levy additional charges and fees as a way around the price cap. I am aware of a business that was hit out of the blue with a £3 million bill for gas that the supplier bought from the wholesale market but that was seemingly lost in transit to its customers. It is important to note that the gas was never used by the manufacturer but was nevertheless charged to that customer. There are other examples of poor business practice used to extract money from hard-pressed UK ceramics manufacturers.

The UK ceramics industry is working tirelessly to become carbon neutral, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South pointed out. In an energy-intensive industry, in the current energy crisis, this is all the more commendable. With the publication of the Skidmore review on net zero, the House should note that China still builds most of the world’s coal-fired power stations. UK ceramics manufacturers have to compete against a country that is not tied down by net zero targets. Many UK ceramics businesses are working with the British Ceramic Confederation to research the production of various ceramic products using hydrogen-fired kilns, and many UK ceramics manufacturers have signed up to the confederation’s net zero commitment by 2050.

As I outlined earlier, Stoke-on-Trent was at the beating heart of Britain’s first industrial revolution, and I am adamant that it can also be the centre of the green revolution, too. The British Ceramic Confederation is looking into the development of hydrogen technology to power factories. This is an exciting opportunity for the Government to support a crucial industry while also making this country more self-sufficient. As we all know, the war in Ukraine has vividly illustrated the importance of not relying on other countries for our energy.

In May, the British Ceramic Confederation was delighted to announce that £300,000 of Government funding had been awarded for a project to study the feasibility of using hydrogen as a fuel for the UK ceramics sector as the industry pushes towards net zero targets. This was a fantastic and highly welcome first step in supporting the ceramic industry to achieve net zero. Today, I ask the Minister to clarify what next steps the Government will take to further advance our goal of achieving net zero by 2050 by providing direct support on innovation to the UK ceramics industry? Will the Minister meet me and colleagues from the ceramics sector to explore direct research funding?

The purpose of this debate was to highlight, on the Floor of the House, the impact of the cost of energy on our great ceramics sector. It is impossible to overstate its centrality, at both local and national level, to communities such as Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke. I therefore implore the Minister to demonstrate that the Government remain steadfast in their support for the sector and those who work in it. As I have said, they are a fundamental element of Stoke-on-Trent’s economy, its jobs and its heritage.

This is one of our great country’s last great assets, and it is of paramount importance that we support it.

Industrial Action

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 10th January 2023 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

I do not know whether I am correcting myself or the hon. and learned Lady, but I was not saying—I did not mean to say, at least—that striking workers pushed up interest rates. It is inflation that pushes up interest rates. If we paid a 19% increase across the economy, we would have to borrow the money; we would then have more borrowing and more debt and, therefore, higher interest rates. Everybody would pay more on their mortgages and car loans. Businesses would pay more. That is the quite simple maths that I would have thought we have tested to destruction. It would not make sense to go ahead along those lines.

The hon. and learned Lady asked specifically about the ECHR, and I can confirm that the Bill is ECHR-compliant. My hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Laura Farris), who is no longer in her place, talked about employment law and how the Bill fits with the ILO and the ECHR; I have been able to sign that declaration. I can further confirm that there is proof of this, as many neighbouring countries already do exactly the same thing, which is also compliant with the ECHR.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I proudly put on the record my entry on the Register of Members’ Financial Interests as a former teacher and a former trade union member and representative for the NASUWT. I am very worried seeing teachers going on strike, because it is the pupils who will suffer most, particularly disadvantaged pupils from areas such as Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke. While I am a huge admirer of the incredible work that teachers do, they are sadly being cajoled out of the classroom by baron bosses in unions such as the “Not Education Union”, led by Bolshevik Bousted and Commie Courtney, along with their Labour mates, to make sure that kids continue to suffer. What can we do to ensure pupils will not be victims any further?

[Grant Shapps]

Minimum levels of service in education and elsewhere will of course help. Again, I want to stress to the House that we do not necessarily want or wish to introduce legislation in all these areas; that will be a matter for the House in secondary legislation and for further consultation. I very much hope, though, that this legislation gives the unions and some of their supporters in this House the opportunity to stop and think about whether minimum safety is appropriate in their particular areas. I very much hope that teachers will hold back from the threshold of strikes, which would be damaging to them and to pupils.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 29th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right to point out the plight of park home owners, who are in a different position from others because of the lack of connection, sometimes, to the grid. We are working very hard to ensure that they get their payments as well, which will happen this winter. My right hon. Friend can be reassured that we are doing that, and currently working through local authorities to deliver it.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

Mr Speaker, I know you are a huge fan of making sure your pottery comes from the Potteries. Ceramic manufacturers, despite the energy price cap guarantee—it has been hugely helpful, with one manufacturer saying it will save it £4 million over the winter months—are still left in a dire situation. Will the Secretary of State agree to meet me, the other Members of Parliament for Stoke-on-Trent and Rob Flello, the chief executive of the British Ceramic Confederation, to discuss what further support can be given to this vital industry?

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right about the pressure those manufacturers are under, and I absolutely recognise that. There is the energy-intensive industries discount of 85%, but I would certainly be very happy to meet him and colleagues to discuss the matter further.

Britain’s Industrial Future

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 15th November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Bill Esterson (Sefton Central) (Lab)]

I would like to start by giving apologies on behalf of the shadow Secretary of State, who is unable to be here today for personal reasons.

The motion in my name and in the names of my right hon. and hon. Friends should be self-evident. We want to see the great British industries that have shaped our nation last long into the future, securing our transition to net zero while bringing the jobs and skills so desperately needed in many of our communities. Those skills need to be skills of the future. That is why Labour is committed to 100,000 extra apprenticeships each year and flexibility in the use of the apprenticeship levy to support the training of existing workers. This Government claim that they want to level up the country, but can they deliver well-paid jobs in the areas of the country that they claim to care about? Sadly, it seems that those promises, as we have seen with so many other Conservative promises, are simply not worth the manifesto they were written on.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Bill Esterson]

I will give way shortly.

Today, many of our industries, including steel, car manufacturing and shipbuilding, are facing an existential threat from spiralling energy costs, cheap imports and inflation. To make matters worse, they are also facing an indifferent Conservative Government. While other nations have had the foresight to retain a competitive advantage and invest in future technologies, here in Britain the Conservatives are happy to watch decades of expertise and reputation go abroad, along with the high-quality jobs that underpin our industrial communities.

Before the Minister blames international challenges, let us just remind Conservative MPs that this country is uniquely exposed to global economic problems. That is why the Bank of England has described UK-specific factors as behind the high interest rates that threaten homeowners and businesses with higher borrowing costs. The Conservatives have presided over 12 years of low growth, low investment and low productivity. Business investment under this Government is the lowest in the G7. We are the only G7 country where the economy is contracting, and the only one where the economy has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The Conservatives crashed the economy and they do not have a plan for recovery. Meanwhile, according to the latest Office for National Statistics business survey, a fifth of businesses say that uncertainty about demand and business prospects is holding back their investment plans. We can see what the former Chancellor meant when he used the phrase “vicious cycle of stagnation”.

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[Bill Esterson]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. She is confused because we have had so many Conservative Prime Ministers in the last few weeks that it is hard to keep up. Like her, I want to see Northern Powerhouse Rail linking my constituency on the west coast with her constituency on the east coast, providing economic benefits all the way along the route.

[Jonathan Gullis]

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

[Bill Esterson]

I will give way. Perhaps the hon. Gentleman will apologise for supporting a Government who crashed the economy.

[Jonathan Gullis]

The hon. Gentleman said he would come back to me when I sought to intervene on his talk of jobs in areas that we promised to level up, such as Stoke-on-Trent. He will, of course, welcome the 500 brand new Home Office jobs that have come to Stoke-on-Trent thanks to the Conservative Government, the 9,000 jobs that have been created thanks to the Conservative-led Stoke-on-Trent City Council under Councillor Abi Brown, and the 1,700 jobs at Chatterley Valley West that the Labour council opposed in May’s elections.

[Bill Esterson]

Unfortunately, the hon. Gentleman does not understand that 12 years of low growth, low investment and low productivity mean that places like Stoke-on-Trent have been hit very badly by this Conservative Government.

Where has 12 years of Conservative Government left British industry, not least in places such as Stoke-on-Trent? Manufacturing has seen the worst output over three months since the 1980s. Anyone who genuinely wants to turn around the UK’s poor economic performance cannot discount the role of industry in our economic growth. It is not a question of being either a service-led or a manufacturing-led economy. Successful economies are a combination, and successful industries are a combination, too. Good manufacturing depends on the services that support production.

Labour knows the value and understands the crucial role of our industrial base in delivering economic growth, which is why we have outlined our industrial strategy to give businesses certainty that they can invest alongside Government to safeguard our world-class industries. Economic strength needs partnership between Government and market, and between business and worker. Our new industrial strategy has partnership at its core, because partnership is how we ensure strong, secure growth and a fairer, greener future.

Our plans for a national wealth fund to invest in our great industries will play a crucial role, alongside businesses and trade unions, in delivering the certainty that investors and workers need. Labour’s plan will bring businesses, workers and trade unions together to safeguard the future of an industry that is the pride of communities across the country. I am talking, of course, about steel.

What we need is not crunch crisis talks and random nationalisations but investment in our great industries, with a real plan to secure our steelmaking future through a partnership to invest in the technology that our steelmakers need to export green steel around the world. But for 12 years the Conservatives have failed to back Britain’s steel industry. The Government have let the industry decline, with jobs offshored and communities damaged. While Governments around the world have been committed to their domestic industries, with long-term strategic investment in green steel production, the Conservatives have failed to invest in the transition, have attempted to weaken safeguards that protected our steelmakers from being undercut by cheap steel imports and have splashed tens of millions of pounds on imported steel to build British schools and hospitals.

Labour will make different choices. We will put UK steel at the heart of our wider industrial policy, building British wind turbines and railways, and investing in carbon capture and storage, and hydrogen infrastructure. I wrote to the Secretary of State two weeks ago about the concerns of the steel industry in this country. As he has not replied to my letter, perhaps the Minister winding up this debate will tell us what action the Government are taking to support this core industry.

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[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I am proud to stand up for the ceramics industry, which is the beating heart of our great city of Stoke-on-Trent. It is a shame that the shadow Minister, the hon. Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson), did not use this opportunity to mention ceramics at any stage. This plays into the narrative that the Labour party has set—namely, that it has forgotten Stoke-on-Trent and the ceramics sector and will continue to forget them, as it did in the previous 70 years before Stoke-on-Trent got a Conservative-led Council and three Conservative Members of Parliament, instead of talking up this great city and the fact that this Government have given nearly £4 million through the Kidsgrove town deal to Chatterley Valley West, which will open up the UK’s first advanced ceramics campus, creating up to 1,700 brand new, high-skilled, high-wage jobs for our local area, adding to the 9,000 jobs created across the city of Stoke-on-Trent, of which 2,000 came from this Conservative Government backing Councillor Abi Brown and her ceramics valley enterprise zone.

I am surprised that the motion does not mention Labour’s plan, but I think that is because it is a plan with a lot of holes in it. Those are not my words; they are the words of the shadow climate change Minister, the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy), who was quoted at the Labour party conference as saying such a thing. Even a Labour councillor was quoted by PoliticsHome as saying:

“I’ve got no idea how to explain it”.

These are their words, not mine. That is why I will use this opportunity today to talk up the fantastic ceramics sector and the fantastic work of this Government. This Government understand that UK ceramics employs over 17,5000 staff, that it is worth £600 million in exports and that 75% of the industry is small and medium-sized enterprises. Advanced ceramics are used in our aerospace, in medical equipment, in IT and phones and in glass and steel, as well as in the classic ceramics of your toilet, your brick, your pipe, your tile and of course your plate and your mug, all of which I hope will only ever be from the great city of Stoke-on-Trent.

What can the Government do further to help? The energy crisis is indeed having an impact, and while the energy price cap for businesses has been welcomed, it is still quite a complicated mechanism. However, one company has told me that it will save it over £4 million over the next six months, which is a huge amount for it to invest in its workers and its factory and to continue its investment in decarbonisation. The industry has spent £500 million and more to help to find a way to decarbonise. That is without a single Government grant. The challenge for the Minister is how to treat ceramics in the same way and as importantly as the steel industry, of which my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Holly Mumby-Croft) is one of the biggest champions I have ever come across in my entire time of observing politics from afar and here in this Chamber.

We also have to look at the technology. Electric kilns are a nice idea but the technology simply does not work for the UK ceramics sector. They do not work at the temperature needed, and even if only one kiln is installed into a factory, it will take up all the power required, so for factories needing four or five kilns, they simply would not work. National Grid is telling manufacturers such as Churchill China, Steelite and Burleigh that it could take up to two years to sort this out. This is a shocking thing, and while it is of course important to decarbonise, it has to be done using a common-sense approach that does not risk this important UK industry or the people who work in it.

We also have to look at the UK emissions trading scheme, as others have mentioned. The fact that the cost of carbon is more expensive than the EU scheme is simply wrong. Also, the UK Energy Emissions Trading Scheme Authority keeps moving the goalposts, demanding quicker decarbonisation than current technology can cope with, and it needs to be held accountable. It is important that we make that point. It is also important to understand that, while we are investing in hydrogen within the ceramics sector, Government grants to support that will be needed in order to see if that technology actually works.

Stoke-on-Trent is a hotbed of geothermal opportunity, but sadly geothermal is not mentioned enough by anyone in this House. I want it to be unleashed and unlocked in Stoke-on-Trent, fuelling the homes of the future to make sure that households and businesses can get cheaper energy and use our natural resources to turn the city’s history of miners and pits and pots into its energy future. It is so important that we grasp that opportunity. We must give ceramics as much recognition and support as we give to steel and make sure that we protect this vital industry.

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[Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)]

I thank Members across the House for their contributions. We may disagree on how to support our great industries, but we can all agree on the importance of UK industry and the importance of this place talking about it.

With our world-leading universities, our fantastic science base, our national heritage in manufacturing and engineering, our dedicated and flexible workforce and the growing global demand, our industrial future should be bright. However, as my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson) set out, many of our key industries, including steel, car manufacturing and shipbuilding, are facing existential threats.

In three hours of debate, we heard no credible plan for this Government to deliver on industrial jobs, investment and growth. Conservative Members are unable to explain, for example, why UK car production has halved under their watch since 2016—from 1.7 million to just 860,000 cars this year—or why working people in this country have not seen a real-terms increase in their pay since the Conservatives took office. I have to ask: why did Conservative Members really come into politics? Was it to make working people poorer? It seems that way. The Conservatives have been in power for 12 years now: 12 years of low growth, low productivity—[Interruption.] The hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) says it is relative. We want high-paid jobs, with increases for people.

[Jonathan Gullis]

I will use my third opportunity in this debate to remind the hon. Lady that in Stoke-on-Trent we have created more than 9,000 jobs thanks to a Conservative-led city council, led by Councillor Abi Brown, with 2,000 jobs linked to the Ceramic Valley enterprise zone, up to 1,700 jobs thanks to the Kidsgrove town deal and 500 jobs at the Home Office. That is 10,000-plus jobs in our area. Sadly, 10,000 jobs in ceramics went overseas to China under Labour’s watch.

[Chi Onwurah]

Unfortunately, the hon. Gentleman has just illustrated yet again how Conservative Members cannot answer the challenge of well-paid jobs across our country and a pay rise for our working people.

We have had 12 years of low growth; low productivity; austerity a-go-go; broken promises and abandoned manifesto commitments; spiralling inflation; the NHS at breaking point; the Home Office broken, and that is according to the Home Secretary; higher taxes; and higher bills for working people. What a record. At the heart of their ideology, Tories do not believe Government can make a positive difference. They do not want to get stuck in; they just want to get out of the way. It is just one long season of “I’m a Tory MP, get me out of here” where British business is concerned.

However, as my hon. Friends the Members for Bolton South East (Yasmin Qureshi) and for Birkenhead (Mick Whitley) so ably laid out, the state working in partnership with the private sector can shape and create markets. That is what industry needs: a partner to help plan for the future, provide investment and certainty, skills and infrastructure, research and development, trade and market access. The reality is that our great industries will never get the partner they deserve under Conservative Governments. It is much easier to destroy than to construct. They can crash the economy, but they cannot build the economy of the future.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) emphasised, net zero and growth are not in opposition. Partnership between the market and the state presents the opportunity to build world-leading industries that will last for decades and spread wealth across the country. Labour believes the UK has huge potential for new green industries, such as clean steel, as championed so passionately by my hon. Friends the Members for Middlesbrough (Andy McDonald), for Newport East (Jessica Morden) and for Aberavon (Stephen Kinnock).

With our world-leading research base and universities, skilled workforce and deep capital markets, the UK is also well placed to create new clusters of manufacturing from Bolton to Birmingham. Labour has committed to an additional £28 billion of green capital investment a year until 2030 through our green prosperity plan as part of our British wealth fund.

As my hon. Friend the Member for Luton South (Rachel Hopkins) said, this country has enormous untapped potential when it comes to electric vehicles. In my constituency, Newcastle University is a leader in research to overcome the challenges of current battery technology. Under Labour, as my hon. Friend the Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery) emphasised, we will have eight gigafactories to ensure that the next generation of electric cars is made here in Britain. Labour also recognises that hydrogen could modernise heavy goods vehicles and public transport. These are long-term projects, so we will ensure certainty for business with our industrial strategy council to end the farce of long-term plans that do not survive the political cycle.

Science is the foundation of future success, but not content with crashing our current economy, the Tories seem bent on destroying our future economy. They simply are not serious about science. As well as their catastrophic trickle-down experiment with the nation’s economy, they are now trialling Heisenberg’s “uncertainty principle” for science. For the past few months, it has been impossible to know both the role and the number of science Ministers at the same time. The hon. Member for Mid Norfolk (George Freeman), who is not in his place, resigned over the previous—times two—Prime Minister’s behaviour. Then he asked for his job back, but that Prime Minister preferred to keep the position vacant. Then the previous Prime Minister gave the brief to the hon. Member for Wealden (Ms Ghani), but barely had she got her feet under the table when the current Prime Minister gave it back to the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk. Two weeks later, though, we still have not seen any ministerial responsibilities published. The rumour is that the hon. Member for Mid Norfolk has the brief, but the hon. Member for Wealden has the furniture—you could not make it up.

British science is no joke. Labour sees a clear path from world-leading British science to the jobs on which people can raise a family. That is why Labour will aim for 3% GDP investment from public and private sources into research and development, almost double the 1.7% that we have been seeing under this Government, supporting the jobs of the future—in life sciences, artificial intelligence, clean energy, satellite applications, semi-conductors, quantum technologies and marine autonomous technologies, as championed by my hon. Friend the Member for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport (Luke Pollard).

Labour would maintain our membership of the world’s largest science funding programme, Horizon, and we will ensure that the wealth and opportunity that science brings are spread across our country more fairly, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) called for so passionately.

Employment Agencies and Trade Unions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Monday 11th July 2022 Commons Chamber

[Jane Hunt]

I thank the hon. Lady for her question. It is, of course, their choice. It is also their choice to take up an agency position.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

To help the hon. Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell) with her intervention, as a former teacher and a former trade union representative, I am more than happy to go back into any classroom to help out when the disastrous “not education union” is threatening to bring down schools.

[Jane Hunt]

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention, and for his expertise and knowledge in the field.

This is a permissive change that will not force employment businesses to supply agency staff to employers to cover strikes. Agency workers will still be able to decline any assignments they are offered and the right to strike is unaffected. This change is simply about giving both employers and employees more freedom and flexibility to decide what works best for them—a freedom that the current outdated regulations deny them.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Stephens (Glasgow South West) (SNP)]

I refer to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests and to my membership of Unison Glasgow City; I am a proud trade union member. Like the right hon. Member for Ashton-under-Lyne (Angela Rayner), I must say that the irony has not escaped me that right hon. and hon. Members who secured workplace change last week by withdrawing their labour—bringing the country to a standstill, as the Minister put it—now wish to stop others from doing so. When I saw the regulations on the Order Paper, I asked myself whether they were for the trade unions or for the Tories. In Operation Save Big Dog last week, was consideration given to hiring agency Ministers? That was the level that we were at.

What is wrong with the employment agency regulations, of course, is that the Government have tried them before, during the passage of Trade Union Bill. Indeed, there were Government Members who suggested to the Government that they should not go down that road. Then and now, the reason not to is the evidence of the agencies themselves, which do not support this legislation. There has been no consultation.

The regulations interfere with devolution by trying to end the Trade Union (Wales) Act, as we have heard from a number of hon. Members. They interfere with Scotland’s legislative approach, which uses the fair work model; once again, we are seeing this Government running roughshod over devolution. They are also based on fanciful notions. The Minister did not use the phrase “trade union bosses”, but I have heard it used over the past couple of weeks. Trade unions are not the bosses; they are the representatives. It has been suggested by some hon. Members that the fact of disputes taking place is all the fault of the trade unions, not of the poor, downtrodden, six-figure-salary executives who are not engaging.

[Jonathan Gullis]

It is the union barons.

[Chris Stephens]

There is no such thing as a union baron. The hon. Gentleman is one of the hon. Members who withdrew their labour to sit on the cobblestones, but given his rhetoric tonight, it seems that he wishes to stop others doing so.

Another problem is the likely breach of international law. The use of agency workers to replace striking workers would violate trade unions members’ right to strike, which is safeguarded by International Labour Organisation convention No. 87, article 3; by the European social charter of 1961, article 6, paragraph 4; and by article 11 of the European convention on human rights. Indeed, the ILO committee on freedom of association has said:

“The hiring of workers to break a strike in a sector which cannot be regarded as an essential sector in the strict sense of the term…constitutes a serious violation of freedom of association.”

On 16 June, the Institute of Employment Rights published an article by the great Professor Keith Ewing, professor of public law at King’s College London. He discusses the convention and refers to the Government’s own agreement—the EU-UK trade and co-operation agreement, which is given effect in UK law via the European Union (Future Relationship) Act 2020. He suggests that the regulations’ revocation of regulation 7 of the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 may be unlawful:

“It is at least arguable that these pre-existing powers are constrained by the 2020 Act, s 29 so that they cannot be used in a way that will violate the TCA and the obligations thereunder. If this argument is correct, the government is constrained by its own hand from legislating to revoke regulation 7 by secondary legislation.”

There will be a negative impact on agency workers. Allowing their deployment would put them in a horrible position. They would have to choose between crossing a picket line and turning down an assignment, with the prospect of being denied future work by the agency. Many agency workers, such as supply teachers and bank nurses, will be trade union members themselves. Under the UK’s weak employment laws, agency workers are not protected from suffering a detriment if they refuse an assignment because they do not wish to replace striking workers.

There will also be a negative impact on the agencies themselves. The removal of the ban on the supply of agency workers would mean that employment businesses were forced to become involved in industrial disputes not of their making. That is why agencies themselves oppose the proposals, as others have said. In a joint statement with the TUC, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation urged the Government to leave the current ban in place as a key element of a sustainable national employment relations framework. Part of the reason for that is the realisation by employers and trade unions that disputes come to an end, and there must then be a discussion about how to move forward from that dispute and how to rebuild industrial relations. Neil Carberry, the chief executive of the REC, said:

“The government’s proposal will not work. Agency staff have a choice of roles and are highly unlikely to choose to cross picket lines.”

There is a safety issue. The health and safety of agency workers and the potential impact on public safety is of serious concern to trade unions. Studies suggest that temporary agency workers are exposed to more hazards than others, and have higher rates of workplace injuries and ill health. A simple search of the Health and Safety Executive’s prosecutions over the last five years shows a litany of employer failures: a lack of training of agency workers, a lack of access to protective equipment, and a lack of supervision and monitoring of agency workers to ensure that they understand and are following risk assessments and safe systems of work. Sadly, those failures have resulted in fatal or life-changing injuries among agency workers. We also know from agency workers that their health and safety is often overlooked. When the work involves delivering a public service, that can present risks to the service user or endanger wider public safety.

The Health and Safety Executive and other safety bodies broadly agree that the components of a positive safety culture and successful health and safety management, leading to fewer incidents, include good communication, competence, training and induction, good team working, ability to raise concerns with no detriment, and good worker involvement. The hiring of agency workers to try to disrupt industrial action would not achieve that.

There are also concerns about public safety. Under section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, employers taking on agency workers are responsible for their safety and the safety of the public. The agency placing the worker also has responsibility, and we suggest that failures in safety occur owing to the lack of communication and consultation between the two duty holders, with the safety of the agency worker falling through the gaps. That is borne out by reports from the Health and Safety Executive, which found that about half the recruitment agencies surveyed did not have measures in place to ensure that they were fulfilling their legal obligations.

This proposal is not practical. As was pointed out by Members earlier, there are currently 1.3 million vacancies in the UK , which is a record high. Data shows that the number of candidates available to fill roles has been falling at a record pace for months. In this tight labour market, agency workers are in high demand and can pick and choose the jobs that they take. Are they seriously going to take a job in which they have to cross a picket line in order to get a shift, rather than picking a different one? [Interruption.] Perhaps the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Jonathan Gullis) would, but I have to say that he is a unique case.

[Chris Stephens]

Of course, it was Conservative Members’ party that introduced the Master and Servant Act 1823. I could say more about that, Madam Deputy Speaker, but I will not.

[Jonathan Gullis]

Go on!

[Chris Stephens]

Well, it was about what implements could be used to discipline a worker. The hon. Gentleman may want to reflect on that, because the Whips might have done something to him last week when he was taking his industrial action.

What the hon. Member for Easington (Grahame Morris) said was correct. I do not think the Conservatives understand what happens in the workplace. That is the issue here. They think that agencies will replace the striking workers, but that is just not going to happen. An agency worker who can choose between crossing a picket line to get a shift and not crossing the picket line and getting a shift somewhere else will choose the latter option.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

The hon. Member for Glasgow South West (Chris Stephens) talked about my alleged withdrawal of labour last week. The only withdrawal of labour that the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke are seeing is 70 years of failed Labour Governments, failed Labour MPs and a failed Labour-run council. By not investing in high streets, investing in heritage, building the new homes we need or creating the new jobs, the Labour party once again shows it is out of touch and is forgetting the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke.

I am fully supportive of the specific SI on trade unions. I welcome the Minister to her place and congratulate her on an excellent opening speech. I spent eight and a half years teaching in state secondary schools in inner London and inner Birmingham. I was also a trade union shop steward for the NASUWT in that time, and there was many a time when we came close to potentially having to ballot on strike action, but only as a last resort, after negotiations had failed, freedom of information requests had not been granted and there was a breakdown of morale in the school. It is the absolute last resort.

What we have seen from the RMT is a politicisation from the communists and Putin apologists who want to use this opportunity to bring this country to a halt and make sure, very clearly, that tourism to the great city of Stoke-on-Trent is destroyed, that people cannot get to work and earn a salary, and that those uni students who travel in by train to Staffordshire University cannot sit their summer exams.

Then we have the “not education union”. Hansard always corrects me when I say the “not education union”, but that is its name. I do not want to hear its official name, when it is obsessed with bringing these silly 120-point plans for when schools can reopen during covid—one of which was somehow about reforming the welfare state, which had nothing to do with education—and when it has the audacity to tell kids that it will potentially have teachers out on strike at the start of the new term, further damaging the education of children who have been affected by covid. The Labour party is silent about that. Labour does not have it in it to stand up to those trade union barons on their six-figure salaries, in most cases earning more than the Prime Minister of this country, because it simply wants to make sure those donations keep coming in to its party coffers and its constituencies as well.

This Government are trying to take action to ensure that if the service level is being lowered and agency workers want the opportunity, or wish to choose—it is a choice—to cross the picket line, they should have that right. It is deeply Conservative to allow people to choose. I know that the Labour party, or the socialists opposite, are obsessed with us having one set standard for all, but that is not what the people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke want.

The people of Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke want to see a party that is on their side, helping to get their schools open and ensuring that hospitals are running and public sector workers are working. They want to see the very best, world-class services. It is under this Government that they have already seen £56 million from the levelling-up fund, £31 billion from building back better, 500 brand new Home Office jobs, £29 million from the transforming cities fund and £17.6 million in the Kidsgrove town deal, which means that Kidsgrove sports centre, which Labour closed—they did not want to save it for £1 back in 2017—will be refurbished and reopened.

That is the record of this Government. That is why this Government want to make sure that areas such as Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke have people on their side. I welcome the Minister for all her fantastic work and I hope the socialists opposite will realise the error of their ways.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 29th March 2022 Commons Chamber

[Lee Rowley]

The hon. Gentleman highlights the importance of manufacturing, which we have already talked about in these questions. This Government are a champion of manufacturing—[Interruption.] I am so glad that all Opposition Members agree with me. If they really do, they would recognise that ensuring a strong manufacturing base is incredibly important. The Labour party can provide no lessons, on the basis that it decimated manufacturing before 2010.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I am glad now to know who the Minister’s favourite in Stoke-on-Trent is. Steelite, based in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke, received funding from the regional growth fund, but it is being asked to pay back £685,000 plus interest due to capital underspend. The reason for that is simple: a global pandemic came across in March 2020, so it was not viable for Steelite to invest in capital when it did not even know whether it was going to continue to exist or how long the pandemic was going to last. Will my hon. Friend meet me and representatives of Steelite to discuss how that funding can continue to stay, so that Steelite can add to its factory and therefore employ more people locally?

[Lee Rowley]

I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to talk about that in more detail.

Draft Trade Union (Levy Payable to the Certification Officer) Regulations 2022 Draft Trade Union (Power of the Certification Officer to impose Financial Penalties) Regulations 2022

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 25th January 2022 General Committees

[The Chair]

What I said applies to both sides of the House.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

Further to that point of order, Mr Davies. Following on from the point made by the right hon. Gentleman, I have not yet had a chance to speak but I am more than happy to declare that I am a member of the NASUWT and was a trade union representative in the last two schools in which I worked.

[The Chair]

I am sure we are all grateful for that. If we could get back to the debate, I think we would all be very grateful.

--- Later in debate ---

[Imran Hussain]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right and adds to the point that I was beginning to make. It is clear that the Government do not recognise or value the importance of our trade unions. Instead, as we see with the measures before us today, they choose to attack rather than support those who are fighting for working people.

[Jonathan Gullis]

Does the hon. Gentleman share my concerns that trade unions such as the National Education Union were found potentially to have broken the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 for the £505,000 spent in the 2019 general election on adverts that were overtly party political, attacking the Conservative Government, which would obviously have disenfranchised Conservative members whose hard-earned money had been paid into that trade union?

[Imran Hussain]

It is clear that the hon. Gentleman misses the point. There are regulators today and, while I do not know about that specific example, breaches of any kind should of course be investigated, but that is not the matter before us today. This is not a new body that is being set to investigate breaches, so I think the hon. Gentleman will perhaps understand that his point is not relevant to the debate today.

Energy-intensive Industries

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Wednesday 24th November 2021 Westminster Hall

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Ms Nokes. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South (Jack Brereton), who is a doughty champion of Stoke. He is Stokie born and bred and boasts regularly that nearly half of Stoke-on-Trent North was built with his family line, so I look forward to seeing Brereton Place soon when I am out campaigning on the trial.

[Clive Efford in the Chair]

I also want to give a shout-out to my hon. Friend the Member for Scunthorpe (Holly Mumby-Croft) who gave an absolutely outstanding speech; one of the best I have heard since I became a Member of this place. I hope that a lot of those asks are taken up by the Government and acted on.

The city of Stoke-on-Trent is absolutely steeped in its ceramics, not just in its history but in its future. My hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South talked about Lucideon, one of the leading UK advanced ceramic manufacturers which was recently awarded £18 million with the Ceramics Manufacturing Group, which is looking at how we can have new and exciting ways for this technology to work, alongside the traditional industries. I have companies such as Steelite, Churchill China and Burleigh, which are still making their world-leading products, which we can enjoy in this place if we go into Portcullis House or the Members’ Dining Room. It is a shame that when I go into Government Departments when I am turning or when I visit a Minister, I do not see a Stoke-on-Trent mug. I am absolutely dumbfounded when I visit a Minister and see that they do not have Stoke-on-Trent ceramics in their office.

One of the things the Minister should take away from this is to ensure that we properly procure Stoke-on-Trent’s world-leading ceramics in every single Government Department, because it sends a message that a UK Government are backing UK production.

[Sir William Cash]

I commend my hon. Friend on making an excellent speech, as they all have been today. With sovereignty we can stand on our own feet and insist on a level playing field in energy, which never existed in the EU, and promote our own manufacturing on a proper basis.

[Jonathan Gullis]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his intervention. As a co-Staffordshire MP, he has absolutely championed our world-leading ceramics manufacturing in Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, as well as being a doughty champion for the coal industry. A lot of ex-miners in my community always wish to pay their respects to him for all the work he did for them.

Turning to covid-19 and the energy price rise, if we take Steelite International as an example, 99% of its turnover comes from the hospitality industry. In April 2020, as covid-19 forced us into our homes and away from pubs, restaurants and cafes, Steelite lost 95% of its turnover overnight. Despite that being hugely damaging to Steelite as a hospitality operator, it failed to qualify for the rates relief offered to hospitality businesses as part of the emergency package announced in 2020, and it was classed as a manufacturer.

The ceramics industry is crucial to the hospitality sector and should also benefit from the 50% one-year business rates discount announced recently by the Chancellor. As a company that depends on hospitality, Steelite was one of the businesses hit hardest by the pandemic, and now by gas prices. Gas prices have risen rapidly across Europe in 2021, but the UK has been exposed to considerably higher prices than elsewhere, with prices rising to five times what they were this time last year.

Many ceramic companies forward purchase their gas and electricity. However, during lockdown when demand for the hospitality sector drastically decreased, gas that had been forward purchased was not used. That meant companies had to sell it back at a loss, making many reluctant to forward purchase again due to uncertainty over future lockdowns and levels of demand. As a result, the ceramics industry has been left particularly exposed to the current exceptional gas prices. On average, gas is roughly 10% of the cost of manufacturing a plate. However, companies have been exposed to gas costs five times of what they were last year. Companies should, of course, aim to build in some resilience in their processes, but this kind of market fluctuation is beyond anything they could have reasonably planned for. For large manufacturers, it could add as much as £500,000 to £1 million per month to production costs. It is simply impossible for ceramics companies to continue to swallow these increased costs, especially at a time when orders from the hospitality sector are still not up to the previous levels in 2019.

Costs will need to be passed on to customers. However, while we are still recovering from the hangover effects of the pandemic, customers are looking to cut costs, not increase them. Passing on extra costs to customers risks encouraging them to turn to cheap imports from abroad, where Governments have taken decisive action to support intensive industries. Spain has introduced tax cuts, including extending an existing suspension of a 7% power generation tax until the end of the year and cutting the special electricity tax from 5.1% to 0.5%. At the end of the day, we must take action and protect these industries. I hope the Minister will take away everything that has been said, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South for securing the debate.

Oral Answers to Questions

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Tuesday 21st September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Greg Hands]

As a former Treasury Minister, I have to advise the hon. Lady to wait and see on the Budget. We have set out clear actions in relation to the wholesale gas price problems, outlined by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State yesterday, reassuring the public that the consumer always comes first. We have been absolutely clear that the energy price cap will remain—it protects 15 million households. On her accusation that we have done nothing for renewables, I can tell her that under this Government they are up sixfold and that since the right hon. Member for Doncaster North (Edward Miliband) was the Energy Secretary in 2010 they have quadrupled as a share of our energy generation.

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will be aware that ceramics is an energy-intensive industry, and companies such as Churchill China and Steelite are desperate to find a green solution that will enable them to fire the plates that we are lucky enough to dine on here in the House of Commons. So will he meet me and representatives of the ceramics industry to hear how we can help them to achieve net zero?

[Greg Hands]

We, of course, deliver relief schemes to reduce the cumulative impact of some energy and climate change policies on industrial electricity prices for eligible energy-intensive industries and sectors, such as steel, chemicals, cement, ceramics, paper and glass. I know the sector well from my previous role at the Department for International Trade, and of course I would be ready to meet my hon. Friend, the brilliant Stoke Conservative team of other MPs and the British Ceramic Confederation.

Future of Coal in the UK

Jonathan Gullis Excerpts

Thursday 3rd December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for North West Durham (Mr Holden) on securing this debate. I let the Minister know he has my absolute full support for seeing that, where there is an opportunity for us to bring up British coal to help make British products in order to sell global Britain around the world—exactly what the 72% of people in Stoke-on-Trent North, Kidsgrove and Talke who voted for Brexit wanted to see—we must absolutely do it.

I am going to go down memory lane slightly. When the coal industry was nationalised in 1947, there were 59 collieries in Staffordshire. Now, sadly, there is none. Out of the five collieries that were operational in my constituency, the last pit to close was the mighty Chatterley Whitfield in 1977. It is a colliery equivalent to the Colosseum in Rome. When you visit, you can be under no illusion as to why this site is a scheduled ancient monument, a silent colossus—one that nature is quickly reclaiming.

Come 2040, no coal-powered stations will be left standing in this country. On the continent, wind, solar, hydro and bioenergy generated 40% of the EU’s electricity in the first half of this year, beating fossil fuels, which accounted for 34%. So is there a future for coal? I absolutely believe that there is. A site such as Chatterley Whitfield is a perfect example of how the future of coal lies within the tourism sector and the green agenda.

Working with Historic England, I hope to bring forward a vision for the county’s first national industrial heritage park at the site. Nature is reclaiming the vile structures, from ivy growing up the mine wheels to trees sprouting from the great boiler houses. The colliery offers a unique insight into how nature operates on our windustrial past. When coal mining left the Ruhr valley in Germany, the collieries were regenerated as natural parks with great success. Restored rivers and wetlands draw migratory birds, hikers and bikers to the former mining sites, along with euros for the local economy. They are once again humming, but with the sound of not mine shafts and workers, but birds and visitors.

I hope that one day the first national industrial heritage park will be based at the former Chatterley Whitfield colliery, the first colliery to produce 1 million tons within a year, in 1937, and it repeated that success in 1939. I give a special call-out to Councillor Dave Evans of Baddeley, Milton and Norton ward, who has a long history and, sadly, has family members who passed away and lost their lives during their time working as miners on that site.

In 2015, Stoke-on-Trent City Council was successful in securing £19.75 million in funding from the Government to help to deliver the infrastructure for a low-carbon district heating network, or DHN. It is a network of underground pipes to deliver heat via hot water between an energy centre and the buildings connected to the system. It harnesses heat from low-carbon sources such as deep geothermal energy, which is commonly found around former coalfields. Stoke-on-Trent and north Staffordshire is a hotbed of geothermal energy. The network also offers opportunities for young people, and Stoke-on-Trent is now home to an urban heat academy, which will be able to share the expertise we are generating in Stoke with other parts of the country. In a sense, that does bring back an element of mining. The source of hot water is more than 3 kilometres below the surface. Pipes are being mined downwards to access it. This carbon-free heat source removes the need for traditional boilers, in line with the Government’s aims to stop their installation from 2025, and has zero risk of carbon monoxide. I ask the Government to assist with this by asking Staffordshire University and Stoke-on-Trent Sixth-Form College, both located at the centre of the first phase of the network, to speed up their sign-ups to this sustainable energy source.

There may not be a future for coal mining long term, but the legacy of coal is not all bad. There are real green opportunities on offer in these former centres of mining.