Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy Debate

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Department: Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Vauxhall at Ellesmere Port and Battery Manufacturing Strategy

Mark Jenkinson Excerpts
Monday 1st March 2021

(3 years, 9 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Kwasi Kwarteng Portrait Kwasi Kwarteng
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As I said to my right hon. Friend the Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark), the Government are 100% committed to making sure those jobs stay. We are in conversations—negotiations, if they may be called that—with the company. We are also very committed to the Prime Minister’s 10-point plan and driving the energy transition, which will have economic impacts, secure jobs and be a great thing not only in the fight against climate change but for the economic development of our country.

Mark Jenkinson Portrait Mark Jenkinson (Workington) (Con)
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The transition to electric vehicles is essential if we are to hit our world-beating commitment of net zero emissions by 2050. Will my right hon. Friend set out his plans to support the wider roll-out of vehicle charging points in places such as my constituency, where our rurality has necessitated the slower uptake of electric vehicles?

Kwasi Kwarteng Portrait Kwasi Kwarteng
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My hon. Friend raises a crucial point. Clearly, without a successful roll-out of charging points we will struggle to meet the targets we have set ourselves. We have committed £90 million already to facilitate the roll-out of larger-scale charge point infrastructure projects across England for local areas, and we will continue to support that. I would be very happy to have a conversation with him about how we can best do that.