Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of net zero policies on (a) UK manufacturing competitiveness and (b) jobs in carbon-intensive industries.

The transition to net zero is critical for driving growth and delivering new jobs. We have been clear that decarbonisation should not mean deindustrialisation.

Many companies that have decarbonised become more efficient and productive. The challenge can be the capital costs of transitioning and that is why the government is providing extensive support and access to funding for industry, including through the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund, Aerospace Technology Institute and Advanced Propulsion Centre UK. At the same time, the number of jobs in the low carbon and renewable energy economy grew by 27% between 2020 and 2022, more than 5 times faster than overall UK employment (source: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/clean-power-2030-action-plan-assessment-of-the-clean-energy-skills-challenge/assessment-of-the-clean-energy-skills-challenge#fn:6)