Oral Answers to Questions

Liz Saville Roberts Excerpts

Tuesday 12th December 2017 Commons Chamber

[Joseph Johnson]

As I have said, our position is that we have met our first carbon target, and we are on track to exceed the second and third. The Government are taking this agenda exceptionally seriously. In fact we are leading the world on it, having legislated with the Climate Change Act and put clean growth at the very heart of this country’s industrial strategy.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

14. What assessment he has made of the potential effect on Wales of the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

Our industrial strategy is for the whole United Kingdom. I was pleased to hear from, and work with, people, businesses and institutions in Wales and colleagues in the Welsh Government as we developed the strategy. I have held important discussions with Welsh businesses from a range of sectors, including life sciences, steel and nuclear. Welsh innovators are well placed to benefit from the second wave of the industrial strategy challenge fund.

[Liz Saville Roberts]

In the past 10 years of successive Westminster Governments, productivity in my county of Gwynedd has fallen by 10%, while productivity in central London has risen by more than 5%. Such regional inequality is evidence that Westminster is not working for Wales. Does the Minister agree that we should be seeking the tools to build our own future?

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Lady is right in identifying that there are big regional disparities in productivity, and the long-term purpose of the industrial strategy is to work together with our leaders right across the country, with industries, and with universities and colleges to make sure that the drivers of improved productivity are in place. I know that the Government in Wales have participated in and endorsed the approach that we are taking, and I take her endorsement of our direction as further encouragement.

--- Later in debate ---

[Greg Clark]

I am delighted that my hon. Friend draws attention to this area, and he is a great expert in it. He will know that, in the industrial strategy, we established as one of the four grand challenges leadership in the world in artificial intelligence and the analysis of big data. A crucial part of that is making sure that our young people and people retraining have the skills to take up those jobs.

[Liz Saville Roberts (Dwyfor Meirionnydd) (PC)]

T8. Rumours abound that the Westminster Government are seeking to change the policy on nuclear decommissioning. Will the Minister indicate whether he has any plans to introduce a policy of continuous decommissioning for the UK’s ageing nuclear estate, and whether such a policy would apply to Trawsfynydd?

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

I can assure the hon. Lady that nuclear decommissioning is a very important part of the scenery and will be for many years to come.