Newport Wafer Fab

Lindsay Hoyle Excerpts

Monday 21st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Grant Shapps]

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right about this. The interesting thing is that the National Security and Investment Act did not exist when this original takeover took place, which puts this in an unusual category of being a retrospective piece of work. I believe, on the basis of the information that now comes to us and the ability to use the Act, that we would always take these decisions up front. The difference here is that we have had to look at it through a retrospective process. However, I can assure my right hon. Friend and Members across the House that we take these decisions very carefully and cautiously. We have now looked at nearly 100 such decisions, and it is unusual for us to take action to this extent overall.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Secretary of State.

[Jonathan Reynolds (Stalybridge and Hyde) (Lab/Co-op)]

I welcome the new Business Secretary to his responsibilities in the House, and I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Newport West (Ruth Jones) on securing this urgent question and on her tireless advocacy for her constituents on this matter. I welcome the fact that a decision has finally been made on Newport Wafer Fab, but the chaotic process and the lack of strategy from the Government have left workers and businesses facing a great deal of uncertainty that the Government are now honour-bound to rectify.

Nexperia first announced a takeover of Newport Wafer Fab in July last year. It has taken 16 months for the Government to make this decision. In April, the Foreign Affairs Committee was forced to conclude that the review had

“not, in fact, been started.”

Finally, the Government have decided to block the transaction. Meanwhile, jobs have been left hanging in the balance, and the costs of unwinding the deal have risen over that time. We also have to question why we are in this situation in the first place. The south Wales compound semiconductor cluster employs thousands of workers in one of the world’s most strategic sectors, but we are still yet to see the long-awaited semiconductor strategy, which has been 22 months in the making.

Of course, the Government scrapped their entire industrial strategy altogether when the current Prime Minister replaced it with the hastily cooked-up plan for growth. That has already been replaced, because it may have been the sixth plan in 12 years but it was the first to cause a financial crisis. Meanwhile, firm after firm in the semiconductor sector has been sold off to foreign businesses. It genuinely has not been easy even to understand what Government policy in this area is, so may I ask the Secretary of State these questions? First, why has this decision taken so long, when the Government have known everything about the transaction for at least 16 months? Secondly, what is he specifically going to do to secure the future of the jobs in Newport Wafer Fab and ensure we retain this capacity in the UK? Finally, when will the Government come forward with a proper plan for growth, including for key industrial sectors? Decisions such as this, while at times necessary, must form part of a coherent and consistent policy and must be made promptly. All businesses get from this Government is chaos and crisis, and it is not good enough.

--- Later in debate ---

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend will be interested to hear that I think I read a report of his visit to the site. I have taken every opportunity to understand what is happening in Newport, and his experience was helpful. It is also worth the House knowing that, unlike prior to the takeover—I hear some Members still referring to “Newport Wafer Fab”—it no longer does “fab”. What it now does are wafers, and it manufactures purely for Nexperia, and most of that does not end up in this country, unless it happens to be re-imported. The jobs and skills are something we are keen to preserve, and we will be working very closely to ensure that there is a future.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Scottish National party spokesperson.

[Stephen Flynn (Aberdeen South) (SNP)]

Certainly from the outside looking in, it is very much a case of the legislation doing exactly what the legislation was meant to do when it received support right across this House. Understandably, there will be local concerns in respect of that, and I understand where they come from—indeed, the Secretary of State has appeared to acknowledge them up until now. I guess what it shows in wider terms is the UK’s lack of domestic self-sufficiency in semiconductors. I suppose it is for the Government to outline why we are in the present situation. It is perhaps not just in relation to the actions that the Government have not taken: we also need to look at the consequences of the action that they have taken in respect of the likes of Brexit. Intel, one of the biggest players when it comes to semiconductors, has outlined that it is not looking to invest in the UK because of Brexit.

In among all that, can I ask the Secretary of State to provide a little more detail on when he expects to come forward with his plan for semiconductors and to put a little more meat on the bones for those living in the local area as to how those jobs will be protected?