Oral Answers to Questions

Scott Mann Excerpts

Tuesday 12th June 2018 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

No. This question was purely about Kettering—both the question and the answer—so we must move on.

[Scott Mann (North Cornwall) (Con)]

3. What recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of business investment in the food and drink sector in the south-west.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Greg Clark)]

Food and drink grown and made in Cornwall is exported and enjoyed around the world. My hon. Friend, both as chairman of the all-party group on dairy and as North Cornwall’s MP, will welcome the £75 million investment by Dairy Crest in its Davidstow creamery, announced two weeks ago, to expand its cheese production by nearly 50%. We are working closely with the industry to ensure that companies continue to invest and grow, right across the UK.

[Scott Mann]

I am grateful to the Secretary of State for that answer, and I do welcome Dairy Crest’s recent announcement. The food and drink sector is flourishing right across the south-west, particularly in North Cornwall. We have some fantastic brands, including Tarquin’s Gin, Kernow Chocolate, Sharp’s brewery and Buttermilk fudge, to name but a few. Many of these small and medium-sized firms are looking to export for the first time. What discussions is his Department having with the Department for International Trade to expand some of these opportunities for those firms?