Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Cherilyn Mackrory

Tuesday 21st September 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Absolutely. In relation to this question, I pointed out that UKRI spent £15.9 million in the last fiscal year. The UKRI portion of our Department’s spend is being negotiated in the course of the spending review. I would be very happy to follow the guidance of the hon. Gentleman and make sure that we properly fund research into motor neurone disease.

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

T7. Cornish Lithium, alongside Geothermal Engineering Ltd, will play a vital role in levelling up across Cornwall with the economic and job opportunities that they can provide. Will the Secretary of State, or a Minister, commit to visiting Cornish Lithium and GEL with me in the near future so that we can show him why their project very much deserves to have continued support from Government?

10-point Plan: Six Months On

Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Cherilyn Mackrory

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

The accusation that BEIS somehow did not pay people who worked on the scheme is a very serious one and I need to investigate it. I do not think that was the case but, as I said, I will investigate.

As I have mentioned, the green homes grant was composed of three elements. One was the decarbonisation of public sector buildings through Salix, the public finance body, and another relied on local authorities to distribute funds to enhance social housing and decarbonise those buildings. Both those elements were successful. The other element related to owner-occupiers. It was a short-term scheme that was always designed to end at the end of March, which it did, and we are looking to develop a replacement.

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con) [V]]

Falmouth boasts the deepest natural harbour in western Europe and it is well placed to play a leading role in the UK’s ambition to deploy a gigawatt of FLOW—floating offshore wind—capacity by 2030. FLOW deployment in the Celtic sea alone could create more than 3,000 jobs. Local universities and the private sector have come together to accelerate deployment with a Strength in Places fund application. Will the Secretary of State visit the port of Falmouth with me—perhaps while he is in Cornwall next month—to see the exciting plans for ensuring that Cornwall is at the heart of this emerging sector?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I am not sure which is coming first—St Ives or Falmouth—but I am sure that arrangements can be made for such a visit.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Cherilyn Mackrory

Tuesday 15th December 2020 Commons Chamber

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

  The Government are leading the way with the green revolution, and in Cornwall we are teeming with green potential. Will my right hon. Friend work with my Cornish colleagues and I to help put Cornwall at the heart of the green industry, unleashing geothermal energy, lithium, floating offshore wind and their vital supply chains, creating long-lasting jobs in Cornwall?

[The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

My hon. Friend and I have had a number of conversations about the green industrial revolution. I am very excited about the opportunities in her wonderful county, and I look forward to visiting, when restrictions permit me, some of these wonderful projects.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Kwasi Kwarteng and Cherilyn Mackrory

Tuesday 29th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Cherilyn Mackrory (Truro and Falmouth) (Con)]

  I was extremely pleased recently to welcome the Secretary of State for International Trade to Truro and Falmouth, where she was able to look at the globally significant lithium grades in geothermal waters in my constituency. Will the Minister ensure that the Government continue their part funding of this United Downs project to help it to continue its important steps towards the commercial production of lithium in Cornwall?

[The Minister for Business, Energy and Clean Growth (Kwasi Kwarteng)]

I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for the work that she is doing in this area. I also congratulate the United Downs project on last month securing £4 million from the Government’s getting building fund. As the Prime Minister has said this weekend, the UK will lead by example by keeping the environment firmly on the global agenda and serving as a launchpad for a global green industrial revolution.