10-point Plan: Six Months On

Stephen Farry Excerpts

Tuesday 18th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

I am delighted to see this degree of cross-party fraternity on that. All I would say is that the Acorn project has a lot to recommend it.

[Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance) [V]]

The Government talk of a green industrial revolution, but surely they should be working through the concept of a green new deal bringing together attacking climate change and addressing social justice and job creation. On job creation specifically, how do the Government come to the figure of a quarter of a million new jobs by 2030, as many non-governmental organisations and think-tanks believe that the Government could be creating closer to 1 million jobs over the decade with the right policies of investment, with areas such as Northern Ireland achieving 50,000 more new jobs?

[Kwasi Kwarteng]

Of course, the number of jobs depends on the definitions that you use. The 250,000 number specifically relates to the measures in the 10-point plan. I am sure the hon. Gentleman will know, as he has been in the House for a while now, that as Energy Minister I always used to say that we have about 400,000 so-called green-collar jobs today and our target was for 2 million by 2030. That is a much wider range of jobs than those specifically created by the 10-point plan, and that is where there is a discrepancy in the numbers.