Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Ian Levy

Wednesday 13th December 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

14. What steps the Government are taking to help ensure socioeconomic equality.

[The Minister for Women and Equalities (Kemi Badenoch)]

The Government are committed to boosting economic growth across the UK and ensuring opportunity is spread as widely as possible. Education is the most significant lever to create opportunity and reduce inequality, and I am pleased that Conservative reforms have seen children in schools in England excel in the 2022 PISA—programme for international student assessment—scores. England significantly outperformed the average, rising from 27th for mathematics in 2009 to 11th this year, and from 25th for reading in 2009 to 13th this year.

[Kemi Badenoch]

I agree with my hon. Friend, who raises an important point about how connectivity creates access and generates social mobility. The Department for Transport is working to put the needs of current and potential users at the heart of the operation of the transport system, and Network North, our new £36 billion plan, will improve our country’s transport. Perhaps my hon. Friend will write to me about the specific issues, because some of those duties will fall to his local council and I want to know what it is doing with the money we are giving it to improve access.

[Ian Levy]

This Conservative Government have done more for the people of Blyth Valley than any other Government—[Laughter.] And they have brought much needed investment in employment opportunities for my constituents—[Interruption.]

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[Ian Levy]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. This Conservative Government have done more for the people of Blyth Valley than any other Government and have brought much needed investment in employment opportunities for my constituents, following decades of Labour neglect. Will my right hon. Friend please assure me that continuing to close the gap between the north and the south remains the Government’s highest priority?

[Kemi Badenoch]

I am delighted to assure my hon. Friend of that. He is an effective advocate for his constituency, and he knows that this Government have been investing in Blyth Valley. We have given an £18 million boost to regenerate housing, £1.5 million for new high-tech training equipment, £200,000 for extended CCTV provision, and a further £20 million for our long-term plan for towns. Our investment in Blyth shows that only the Conservatives can deliver there, and levelling up and closing the gap is a priority for this Government.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Ian Levy

Thursday 29th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

10. What steps her Department is taking to support the battery sector.

[The Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Kemi Badenoch)]

I recently visited Williams Advanced Engineering, an excellent example of British engineers working at the cutting edge of battery technology, including on projects benefiting from the Faraday battery challenge. The Government’s £541 million Faraday battery challenge has supported more than 140 organisations working across the UK, attracting over £400 million in co-investment, and enabled 500 researchers across more than 25 universities to improve and develop battery technologies.

[Ian Levy]

We know that the United Kingdom needs more battery production facilities in order to achieve net zero and build an automotive industry that is fit for the future. On the Blyth estuary, we have the best site in the UK for high-volume battery manufacturing, with green power supplies, a deep-water port, and a talented and willing workforce. Does the Minister agree that it is vital that this Government grasp the opportunity and do all that they can to bring much-needed new green jobs to south-east Northumberland?

[Kemi Badenoch]

Yes, of course, I do agree with my hon. Friend. I know that Blyth has an excellent location for a gigafactory. I just want him to know, as he represents that constituency, that we continue to work closely with the local authority to secure the best outcome for that site.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kemi Badenoch and Ian Levy

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Ian Levy (Blyth Valley) (Con)]

The Government recently confirmed the first eight sites to be awarded freeport status. That will provide great opportunities for prosperity in those areas. In my home constituency of Blyth Valley we have the only deep-water port in Northumberland, with investments in offshore wind, such as at the Catapult, as well as Britishvolt with the only gigaplant in the UK. What assessment has my hon. Friend made of granting a second round of bidding for areas such as Blyth that were not successful on this occasion?

[Kemi Badenoch]

Freeports will be national hubs for international trade, innovation and commerce and they will regenerate communities across the UK. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government led a fair, open and transparent selection process to determine successful freeport locations in England. Unfortunately, as with any competitive process, there will always be those that are unsuccessful, and I am afraid there are no plans to designate other freeports in England. Freeports are part of a wider package of UK Government support, which invests in skills, infrastructure and innovation at local, regional and national levels. As part of that package, Blyth was awarded £11 million through the future high streets fund in December and is also one of 101 towns eligible for up to £25 million funding from the towns fund.