Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the number of jobs that will be created by the introduction of free ports in the UK; and what (a) methodology and (b) international examples he used to calculate that estimate; and if he will make a statement.

The Freeports policy will unleash the potential of our ports, regenerating communities across the UK, attracting new businesses and spreading jobs, investment and opportunity to towns and cities up and down the country.

We have developed an extremely ambitious and attractive offer, built on engagement with industry experts and economists, examination of international best practice and public consultation.

On Monday 16 November 2020 the government published the bidding prospectus for Freeports in England, setting out further details on our proposals for the policy and inviting bids by Friday 5 February 2021.

The bids will be assessed against the objectives of the policy, with regeneration and job creation as the lead objective.