UK Nuclear Energy Programme

Debate between Ed Davey and Roberta Blackman-Woods

Monday 21st October 2013 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I can reassure my right hon. Friend, who championed the case for Wylfa when she was Secretary of State for Wales, that we are on the case. I know that Hitachi, is keen to make progress on that, and it and others will be cheered by today’s announcement. They know that the Government are leading the way, taking the tough decisions and developing the most attractive market in the world for new nuclear.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) (Lab)]

I heard the Secretary of State announce this development on BBC radio this morning, but his estimate of the number of jobs to be created seemed to vary with each question asked. What exactly does “up to 25,000 jobs” mean and how many will be likely to go to UK residents?

[Mr Davey]

That is a fair question. I mentioned three figures on jobs: over the lifetime of construction, we expect 25,000 jobs to be created; at peak, on site, there will be 5,600; and when the plant is finished and starts generating at full capacity, we expect there to be 900 full-time permanent jobs. They are different figures, but they are also very impressive figures.

I am afraid we have not done the analysis on how many of those jobs will be done by UK passport holders, but we expect a lot of them to be British. One reason EDF is investing in the local college is to bring on apprentices and young people in the area so that they can be the trained nuclear engineers of the future, working at Hinkley Point C and beyond.

Economic Development (North-East)

Debate between Ed Davey and Roberta Blackman-Woods

Tuesday 15th February 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Davey]

I believe that they all do, and I will explain why. They know that this coalition Government are improving the public finances, which is vital for the stability of our economy and for investment in the north -east and other regions, and are prepared to take the tough decisions which, if one were to believe what Labour Members have said, their party would have ducked.

I share the desire of the right hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne East to ensure that the north-east can share in sustainable, long-term economic growth. He made that case with passion, and the Government agree that we need to make such growth our overriding priority. We want to forge a new model for growth—one that is based on rebalancing the economy, both geographically and in terms of sectors, and which promotes innovation and boosts exports, not merely relying on consumption that is, in many cases, fuelled by public debt. That is why we have set up the growth review, which is a root-and-branch analysis of the barriers that impede business growth, and the structural reforms that we believe are needed to boost economic growth across the country. The initial phase is focusing on immediate priorities for business by improving the competition regime—on which I am leading—increasing exports, reforming the planning system, and cutting red tape and regulation. That will underpin this year’s Budget. A huge amount of work is going on in that context.

When my right hon. Friend the Business Secretary recently made a statement to the House about the trade and investment White Paper, the hon. Member for Bishop Auckland (Helen Goodman) said that she was worried about where inward investment would come from. I refer her to that White Paper, which talks a great deal about the importance of inward investment for all regions of our country. Many excellent firms in the north-east contribute to this country’s manufacturing exports, and I believe that they will strongly welcome the policies and framework that the White Paper sets out.

In the meantime, we are introducing a range of policies intended to support enterprise so that companies can grow and create new jobs. Let me highlight just a few of those. We are cutting the main rate of corporation tax from 28p to 24p by 2014. We are reducing the small companies rate from 21p to 20p—not increasing it as the previous Administration had intended. We are cutting the unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy that hinders, rather than helps, UK firms. We are boosting adult apprenticeships funding by up to £250 million by the end of the spending review period to create up to 75,000 more places a year. We heard nothing about the apprenticeship scheme from Labour Members. It is a huge success. I do not know whether any of them took part in national apprenticeship week, as I did in my constituency. At many of those events, we noticed the enthusiasm of employers and their potential apprentices, with large numbers of people getting really excited about this new opportunity that the Government have provided.

[Roberta Blackman-Woods]

The Minister’s attention was obviously diverted when I spoke about apprenticeships and the need not only to have apprenticeships but to be able to move people on into employment.

[Mr Davey]

I apologise to the hon. Lady if I did not listen when she was talking about apprenticeships, but I did notice her reliance on strategies for skills. What I found rather odd in several policy areas under the previous Government is that they spent a huge amount of money on forming strategies, and then, a year or two later, they were looking at another strategy. In my view, if we have a strategy, we should stick to it and implement it rather than keep changing it, as happened so often under the previous Government.

We are also striving hard to bring about a renaissance in the UK’s industrial base, which has had some serious problems in recent years. Sectors such as advanced manufacturing are critical in creating a more diverse, resilient economy in future. That sector, among several others, is very much part of the growth review that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will talk about in the Budget.