Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what estimate he has made of the number of people currently employed in manufacturing supply chains for (a) internal combustion engines and (b) zero-emission vehicle technologies in the UK; and what steps he is taking to help transition those people in internal combustion supply chains to zero-emission manufacturing roles.

In 2021, the automotive manufacturing sector accounted for 155,000 direct jobs and estimated to support an additional 346,000 indirect jobs elsewhere in the economy. ONS Employee Jobs data does not separately report employment by propulsion-type of car manufactured.

The Government continues to support the automotive workforce reskilling for electrification as part of the up to £1bn commitment to build EV supply chains.

The Government will continue to support the collaboration between universities and the automotive industry to deliver cutting edge R&D research. The Automotive Transformation Fund (ATF) supports R&D and capital investments across strategically important parts of the electric vehicle supply chain.