Question to the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, what steps he is taking to support the creation of employment opportunities in (a) Yeovil constituency and (b) Somerset.

The Government is supporting employment opportunities in Yeovil and across Somerset through its Industrial Strategy and investment in the region’s growth-driving sectors.

In Yeovil, Leonardo UK has been selected for a £1 billion contract to provide 23 new battlefield helicopters. The agreement supports 3,300 jobs at Leonardo’s Yeovil facility and sets up Yeovil as the company’s future centre of excellence for autonomous helicopters. Yeovil College has also been selected as a Defence Technical Excellence College.

Across Somerset, the Government is providing Agratas with a grant of up to £380 million, securing approximately £5 billion of private investment in its battery gigafactory near Bridgwater. The facility is expected to support around 4,200 jobs once fully operational. It is also supporting University College Somerset’s work with Agratas, to deliver training so people across Somerset have the practical, hands-on skills they need to seize the opportunities created by this investment. Somerset hosts two Technical Excellence Colleges: University Centre Somerset College Group, appointed as a Clean Energy Technical Excellence College, and Weston College (in North Somerset) appointed as an Advanced Manufacturing College. Together with Yeovil College, they are among 29 new Technical Excellence Colleges delivering high-quality training in key sectors, backed by £295 million of government investment over the course of this Parliament. This is in addition to wider skills and employment support, including the government’s £2.5bn youth employment package, which will help over 1 million young people by 2029.