Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Chris McDonald

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

I welcome the Minister to his new role as well as this Government’s emphasis on driving growth through innovation in every region of our country, as recommended by my Committee’s recent report, “Flying Blind”. It was called that because it identified a lack of data and information about the factors that drive growth and how to measure success in our regions and across clusters. The report called for a dashboard. Will the Minister tell me what progress has been made on that dashboard, and has he looked at the Cambridge x Manchester Partnership baseline report, which identified a number of indicators, including company stock, funded count, and disclosed funding by employee band?

[Chris McDonald]

My hon. Friend and I share a great confidence in data and a desire to make decisions based on it. With the regional disparities that she is describing, I have looked at the data and there is a clear distinction between the proportion of UKRI funding and UKRI spin-outs, for instance, and then the ability of those companies to attract investment. In fact, the level of funding they received is based on their proximity to London. I share her concern, we are looking at the data on that, and I am happy to work with her and the Committee on how we ensure that regional funding is more appropriately spread.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Chi Onwurah and Chris McDonald

Tuesday 18th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Dame Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West) (Lab)]

T4. The north-east is a vital hub for clean energy supply chains, and my constituents in oil and gas want to be part of that transition, but years of under-investment by the Tories mean that many North sea ports cannot host modern turbine manufacturing. As the Government prepare their plan for the future of the north-east, will the Minister consider infrastructure investment to enable communities and workers in the north-east to better benefit from clean energy jobs?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero (Chris McDonald)]

I recognise what my hon. Friend says about the importance of port infrastructure in the north-east. We made a manifesto commitment to support investment in our ports through the National Wealth Fund, and I would be happy to discuss with her how the north-east in particular could benefit from that.