Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to encourage companies to invest in Basildon.

Growth is the government’s central economic mission and we are currently developing an Industrial Strategy which aims to drive growth across the UK through investment in key sectors and regions.

The Department of Business and Trade (DBT) encourages investment across the UK through working closely with local council teams. A recent example is the 11^th of September opening of Iveco’s UK HQ in Basildon, closely supported by DBT alongside Essex County Council and Basildon Borough Council.

DBT regularly refers to Basildon’s strong industrial base in company information requests, referring to well-established overseas investors such as the Ford Motor Company and CNH Industrial Tractors.

DBT works to promote Basildon to investors with further support from the Thames Estuary Growth Board PRP, The Thames Freeport team and the Cities and Local Growth Unit.