Oral Answers to Questions

John Pugh Excerpts

Tuesday 2nd February 2016 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[John Pugh (Southport) (LD)]

1. What steps the Government are taking to ensure that the British automotive industry is able to develop and benefit from evolving technologies.

[The Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and President of the Board of Trade (Sajid Javid)]

The UK automotive industry is already a great success, but we want to make sure that it stays at the cutting edge. We are committing almost £l billion to help develop next-generation technologies. This will make the UK the go-to location for connected and autonomous vehicles, for example, and it will facilitate automotive research and development.

[John Pugh]

I thank the Secretary of State for his response. We read yesterday of his enthusiasm for driverless cars, but what specific encouragement and incentive will he provide for the more mature and greener technology of hydrogen fuel cells?

[Sajid Javid]

I am glad that the hon. Gentleman has raised the issue of driverless cars. Britain already leads in that area, and yesterday I announced some £20 million of awards. Green energy and greener cars are also important. That is why, in the spending review recently, we announced more funding for research from Government.