Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 7th March 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ms Ghani]

The hon. Gentleman attends the transition board meetings, so he knows that his question is not really relevant to what he is trying to get to the bottom of. We provided £500 million to ensure that steel making continues in Port Talbot. Tata made it clear that it was uneconomic and unsustainable to continue with steel making, so the support that we have given will ensure that north of 5,000 jobs will continue in Port Talbot, and it will support supply chains. On top of that, £100 million has been provided to the transition board, so that its members, including the hon. Gentleman, the unions and all the local representatives, can ensure that local people who need to go through transition get the support that they need. Without that support, there would not be any future steel making at Port Talbot.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

When will the Secretary of State wake up to the huge potential of universities to tackle all the problems in society, including climate change? Will she come to Huddersfield, which has one of the best universities in the country? It is working with local businesses to make the future safe for our country.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 25th January 2024 Commons Chamber

[Ms Ghani]

My hon. Friend will know more than most, having had this brief previously. Of course, we are out there sourcing investment for the UK and, as I mentioned, we are already beating France and Germany. Further afield, the UK is the third country, behind the US and China, to reach the landmark of $1 trillion in value. We have the concierge service with the Office for Investment. We have also recently secured £4.5 billion through the advanced manufacturing plan. That, coupled with the research and development budget of around £39.8 billion between 2022-25, shows that we are ready to enable investment in the UK and to manufacture products in this area.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Will the Secretary of State and her team pay much more attention to the science and innovation possibilities in the hydrogen sector—that is, hydrogen energy and power? This is something we are good at, and the research is there. We need to be there quickly before the Chinese dominate the market.

[Ms Ghani]

I gently say that the hon. Gentleman should pay attention to the hydrogen strategy, which shows we are leaning forward and ensuring that we can capture the investment, de-risk any of the testing and ensure that intellectual property can be commercialised here in the UK. We of course see hydrogen in the mix in our future energy spectrum.

Tata Group Gigafactory Investment

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Barry Sheerman

Thursday 20th July 2023 Commons Chamber

[Ms Ghani]

I hope to get an invitation to visit that plant and my hon. Friend’s constituency, and I will of course do my best to promote Vauxhall vans. What is really exciting about this initiative is that it is about producing batteries not just for JLR but for the whole market, which is crucial. With the Tata and Envision gigafactories, we are two thirds of the way to getting to the 100 GW that the Faraday challenge believes we need. We are not complacent and are still going to do everything we can to secure further investment and seek further growth in this area, but for the moment we need to accept that this gigafactory could have gone anywhere in Europe, and there were huge talks about where it was going to be, but Tata had confidence in the UK and decided to come home to us.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

May I say, Madam Deputy Speaker, what a pleasure it is to see you back in the Chair on a regular basis? I wish you and everybody else who works in Parliament a very good recess when it comes.

This is a very welcome announcement. Tata is a good company and this is a big day and a big announcement. Of course, this investment should have been in Huddersfield —I would say that, wouldn’t I?—because we have a wonderful engineering skillset. I do not want to be a downer, but I warn the Minister of this: by the time building work on the canal system was finished, everybody had lost their shirt on their investment because the railways came unexpectedly and all the investment was wiped out. I have recently visited JCB, which has developed hydrogen-powered vehicles; will the Minister make sure that the Government focus equally on hydrogen? Many of us believe that, rather like the railways and the canals, hydrogen will come almost out of the blue and be the major, much more sustainable, future mode of transport.

[Ms Ghani]

The hon. Member is absolutely right that Huddersfield is a great place. We are not complacent: if the right opportunity, investment and partnership is put forward, we will of course consider that. We want to make sure that we continue to grow our gigafactory capacity. I knew that the hon. Member was going to touch on hydrogen, which he talks about often. The work we are doing with the ATF is not just about electric vehicles but about how we adopt all new functioning technologies to get to the first stage of zero emissions, and then to the next stage and so on. There are opportunities for hydrogen projects to come forward. Just a few weeks ago I visited a major construction project where not only the vehicles on site building and developing the port and the infrastructure were going to be hydrogen, but the vehicles moving on and off the site were to be well. Hydrogen is very much in our sights too.

COP27

Debate between Nusrat Ghani and Barry Sheerman

Monday 21st November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Ms Ghani]

Once again, my hon. Friend hits the nail on the head. The climate change performance index is not run by the Government; it is an independent organisation that monitors these issues. The UK is the only G7 country to be in the top 10, which shows that we are world leaders. Obviously, I cannot comment on his points about how individuals and political parties with issues about reaching net zero would do better to focus their attention on those other countries that are not doing so well.

[Mr Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) (Lab/Co-op)]

Is this Minister aware that, since I read and reviewed Professor Steve Jones’s book, “Here Comes the Sun”, I have been convinced that, unless we do something really radical, life on this planet will be extinguished? That is the level of the challenge. Not one senior Cabinet Minister is here today for this urgent question on the most important thing that faces us all. My party and her party must get their act together if we are not to face the end of life on this planet.

[Ms Ghani]

I do not keep a tab on what papers or books the hon. Gentleman reads. I am sorry that he is disappointed that there is not a Cabinet Minister in the Chamber, but, as I have said, they were involved in negotiations at COP and they are now on their way back. The urgent question was granted and here I am. No one is denying the importance of what is happening at COP. We must make sure that we reach net zero. That applies not only to this country, but to countries around the world with which we have to negotiate.

I am anxious that we do not leave this Chamber with a picture of doom and gloom. Negotiations have taken place and there has been some progress, but sometimes we overlook that progress. I know that what matters to my constituents will no doubt matter to the hon. Member’s constituents as well. On the forests and climate leaders’ partnership, for example, 23 countries and the EU are accelerating momentum to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. The UK has also confirmed £150 million to protect rainforests and natural habitats. That is as a result of our leadership. It is not perfect, but we should be so proud of how far we have gone.

The accelerating to zero coalition has also been launched, and it has been announced that the zero emissions vehicle declaration has 210 signatories. Furthermore, the breakthrough agenda will result in tangible actions being taken by countries that account for more than 50% of global GDP. There is much more to do, but there is a lot to be proud of. We should continue moving forward.