Mark Lazarowicz
Main Page: Mark Lazarowicz (Labour (Co-op) - Edinburgh North and Leith)(12 years, 3 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Vince Cable
The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right, but that requires a big cultural change, and that is beginning to happen. We see from university applications this year that engineering was the most popular subject among applicants, which suggests that we have been successful in recognising that engineering is an essential discipline.
Mark Lazarowicz (Edinburgh North and Leith) (Lab/Co-op)
The Secretary of State will be aware that there is a plan for a major wind turbine plant in my constituency and that there are major plans for offshore wind turbines off the east coast of Scotland. I therefore welcome what he said to the right hon. Member for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Sir Alan Beith) about support for renewables. However, people in those industries are asking questions about the commitment to the renewables industry of other people in the Government. Will the Secretary of State take this opportunity to dissociate himself from those in the Government who question the role of renewables in our industrial revival?
Vince Cable
There is complete support in the Government for what is happening in offshore wind, which is what the hon. Gentleman was describing. I introduced, with the support of my colleagues, a new centre to promote research and development—in Scotland, as it happens—and I was recently in Edinburgh supporting one of the new ventures there. The Government are fully behind the industry, which is building up on the east coast of Scotland and England in particular, taking advantage of the opportunities in the sector, which has enormous potential.