Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the transition to electric vehicles on small businesses that provide repairs to diesel vehicles.

The Government's Industrial Strategy sets out our plans to upskill the nation with an extra £1.2 billion each year by 2028-29 and to deliver more opportunities for people at all stages of life to learn and earn in our high-growth sectors. The newly created agency Skills England will work with partners to assess skills needs at national, regional and local levels, and the Department for Education has committed to a new skills and growth offer to support meeting these needs.

We are evolving apprenticeships into a new Growth and Skills Offer to provide greater flexibility for employers and learners, in line with the Industrial Strategy. The offer will boost skills in the sector through initiatives like the Electrification Skills Network, which supports the development of a nationally consistent approach to electrification skills in parallel to technology; and the Electric Revolution Skills Hub, which connects the Power Electronics, Machines and Drives community through a digital platform that gives access to training, development and jobs across the nation.