Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Melanie Onn and Jonathan Reynolds

Thursday 5th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. Teesside is a hugely exciting part of the country. There is so much to be proud of there, and so much to be excited about for the future, because of its advantages and the offer that it can make. He asks about green jobs. I have said many times that decarbonisation cannot be deindustrialisation; that is very important. We must recognise that the policy mix that we have inherited is not the right one for delivering decarbonisation, so changes will have to be made. For any business at any level, skills and access to talent in the labour market will always be the foundational issue. We work very closely with our colleagues in the Department for Education. The creation of Skills England and a better link between the skills system and immigration are key parts of that. Moreover, changing the apprenticeship levy to the growth and skills levy, which we co-designed with business, shows that we are addressing this agenda in a comprehensive way for the step change that is required to make our policy a success.

[Melanie Onn]

The Secretary of State will be aware of Air Products, which intends to invest £2 billion in northern Lincolnshire and green hydrogen projects. Does he agree that that investment would not only transform the south bank of the Humber, including my constituency of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, bringing 1,400 new jobs, but be an ideal project to include in the global investment summit? Perhaps he would be interested in meeting representatives of Air Products and me at some point.

[Jonathan Reynolds]

Let me say how wonderful it is to see my hon. Friend back in her place, representing her community and bringing with her even more expertise from the roles that she has held and the work that she has done in her time outside Parliament. It is a key priority for me to ensure that good jobs in the supply chain come with the transition that we all now support. I can tell her not only that we are interested in Air Products, but that my colleague, the Minister of State for Industry, already has a meeting with it scheduled in the next few days, and we look forward to working with my hon. Friend not just on that, but on many issues in the weeks and months to come.

--- Later in debate ---

[Melanie Onn (Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes) (Lab)]

T5. Are there any plans to crack down on the dodgy vape shops that are damaging the appearance of our high streets? Is consideration being given to improving trading standards to protect our young people and children who are exploited by these premises?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

Good product regulation and public confidence in our system are important across the board for every sector of the economy. My hon. Friend will have seen the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill in the King’s Speech. It will give powers to the UK Government to regulate in a range of fields. What she raises is exactly the kind of area we will be able to consider and debate in more detail.