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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support manufacturing jobs in North East England.

The Government’s Industrial Strategy has set out a long term approach to boost the UK’s productivity growth and ensure that we’re building an economy fit for the future. The White Paper has set out a range of measures aimed at increasing investment from the private and public sector, which will both be vital in meeting the objective of increasing our productivity and earning power for people across the UK. This includes a commitment to increase total R&D investment to 2.4% of GDP by 2027.

We are committed to making the UK the best place in Europe to own and grow a manufacturing business. Through our Industrial Strategy, we will make sure that we are using all the tools we have to stimulate growth in places such as the North East. That means using our record investments in infrastructure to unlock growth in every part of the country; using the major new investment in research to support innovative manufacturing businesses across the country; and encouraging inward investment into the parts of the country where we need to get growth going faster. We are also cutting business taxes and slashing red tape.

Government is supporting the North East LEP Growth Deal by providing £380 million of funding that will lead to an estimated 8,000 new jobs. The Growth Deal includes funding for the International Advanced Manufacturing Park (IAMP) providing a world-class environment for high-tech industries and advanced manufacturing businesses.