Oral Answers to Questions

Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi Excerpts

Wednesday 19th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Western (Warwick and Leamington) (Lab)]

What steps the Government is taking to support the manufacturing industry in Wales.

[Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Slough) (Lab)]

What steps the Government is taking to support the manufacturing industry in Wales.

[Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) (Lab)]

What steps the Government is taking to support the manufacturing industry in Wales.

--- Later in debate ---

[Simon Hart]

I am sure the hon. Member will understand if I do not get drawn into any questions about Liberty, particularly given the case he mentions, but I hope he will be reassured by the fact that my earlier reference to Celsa—we were able to step in at short notice and help a company for exactly the reasons that he rightly points out—is a demonstration of exactly how committed we are to a sustainable steel industry in Wales.

[Mr Dhesi]

Way back in 2012, in the good old days, the Conservative-led Government promised to build a western rail link to Heathrow that would benefit not only my Slough constituents, but the many Welsh businesses and families who would have a shorter, more direct route to our major national transport hub. So can the Secretary of State tell us when we can finally expect work to begin on that line? Can he also guarantee that Welsh and other UK steel manufacturers will be at the front of the queue when the line is being built?

[Simon Hart]

I would be a beneficiary of that line, so I am with the hon. Member in terms of our ambition to always try to improve on our infrastructure links. It is good for the economy and particularly good for the supply chain economy, as he rightly points out. Plenty of businesses in Wales could benefit from that. I hope the recent announcement on procurement in the Queen’s Speech will give him and others encouragement that we are taking that extremely seriously.