Oral Answers to Questions

Joy Morrissey Excerpts

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

My hon. Friend is quite right. In addition to the proposed extension to the Rampion offshore wind farm off Brighton, I understand that there is significant market interest in the Crown Estate’s current seabed leasing round, and that, we expect, will include areas off the coast of the south-east of England, near my hon. Friend’s constituency.

[Joy Morrissey (Beaconsfield) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support an environmentally sustainable economic recovery in the automotive sector.

[Karl MᶜCartney (Lincoln) (Con)]

What steps his Department is taking to support an environmentally sustainable economic recovery in the automotive sector.

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Nadhim Zahawi)]

My hon. Friend will know that we continue to support the transformation of the sector towards zero-emission vehicles. Last autumn, we announced up to £1 billion of new funding for the next generation of innovative, low-carbon automotive technologies. A competition, as we speak, is under way.

[Joy Morrissey]

As we recover from the economic effects of the coronavirus, it is vital that we build back greener. Can my hon. Friend reassure me that he is backing the innovators who are working on decarbonising our automobile industry—companies such as Gridserve Sustainable Energy—and who can get their cutting edge ideas on to the market, supporting green jobs along the way?

[Nadhim Zahawi]

Green recovery is an absolute priority for my Department. We have brought forward funding to restart innovation, support business and deliver our decarbonisation ambitions. This includes £10 million through the Advanced Propulsion Centre and £12 million from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles.