Budget Resolutions and Economic Situation

Peter Aldous Excerpts

Tuesday 9th March 2021 Commons Chamber

[Peter Aldous (Waveney) (Con) [V]]

From a Waveney and East Anglian perspective, the two main features of the Budget were the towns fund deal announcement for Lowestoft and the successful freeport bid for Felixstowe and Harwich. These two announcements are welcome and can play a key role in the covid recovery. Locally, the cornerstone of the Waveney recovery will be the £220 million public investment in the centre of Lowestoft in the next five years—not just for the towns fund deal but for the Gull Wing bridge and the Lowestoft flood defence scheme. We must ensure that these projects are built on time and on budget and that they act as catalysts for private sector investment and provide local people with the opportunity to work on them.

East Anglia has enormous potential to play a lead role in the emerging green economy. We can be a global leader and exemplar, and we must ensure that local people benefit from this. There are great opportunities in a wide variety of sectors: low carbon energy production, including offshore wind, nuclear and hydrogen; the storage of carbon in the gas fields of the southern North sea; sustainable, responsible custodianship of our marine and fishing resources, building on the work of the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, which has been in Lowestoft for over a century; low-carbon shipping and maritime activities, not just in Felixstowe and Harwich but in Ipswich, Lowestoft, Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn; and, finally, the emergence of net zero agriculture.

The policy framework that will enable us to make the most of these opportunities is emerging. The announcements in the Budget follow on from the publication in December of the energy White Paper and last month of the further education White Paper. Moving forward, we now need to put into practice the proposals in the further education White Paper so as to provide young and local people with the skills and expertise to take advantage of these exciting opportunities. We must move away from the low-wage economy that has been prevalent in East Anglia for too long.

The North sea transition deal that will be published in the next few weeks must properly recognise the full potential in the southern North sea. A lot of work is required, as well as investment, to rebuild a sustainable fishing industry on the East Anglian coast. The fishing aspect of the free trade agreement with the EU is not helpful and has set us back a few years, but with the right investment and responsible management, progress can be made. Finally, the arrangements and support provided for the Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth enterprise zone should be reviewed and properly aligned with these emerging and exciting opportunities.