Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of automation on (a) employment and (b) operations within the Tees Freeport over the next five years.

Government made clear in the Freeports Bidding Prospects that the lead policy objective for Freeports policy is to promote regeneration and job creation. In pursuit of this objective, we were clear that bidders would be assessed against two key outcomes: a) an increased number of jobs and average wages in deprived areas in and around the Freeport, and b) an increase in economic specialisation in activities high in Gross Value Added (GVA) relative to the current makeup of the local economy. In order to make the list of appointable bids, bids were, amongst other criteria, required to have scored at least a medium on the Regeneration and Levelling Up criterion demonstrating clearly how they will be a catalyst for job creation and regeneration in the wider area.

On automation specifically, Government believes there are many benefits, including job creation and improved productivity, but will continue to monitor its impact on the labour market.