Ceramics Industry

Noah Law Excerpts

Monday 6th July 2026 Westminster Hall

[Dave Robertson]

My good and hon. Friend is right to raise the importance of energy costs to industry across the United Kingdom. Ceramics, though, is the hardest industry to decarbonise. It is therefore right that the Government are looking at a specific carve-out for ceramics, especially given its geography.

Returning to the problem so ably diagnosed by Hayley, she has also offered a solution. The petition calls on the Government to urgently review the British industry supercharger—a scheme that helps energy-intensive businesses including steel, chemicals and paper manufacturers with their electricity costs. She calls for that to be extended to the ceramics sector. During the last few months, Denby has said that relief through the supercharger scheme would have saved the company, but currently, ceramics businesses are falling through the cracks of the scheme.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

As my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) pointed out, the critical minerals industry lacks wider support through the British industrial competitiveness scheme and the supercharger scheme, but so does upstream china clay production. That is a huge concern for a supply chain industry that supports many businesses represented by Members in the Chamber.

[Dave Robertson]

It seems like Cornwall has come mob-handed today; I am getting it from both sides. My hon. Friend is right, and that goes back to the point about reindustrialising the nation. We have heard for so long about deindustrialised areas and former industrial areas, so it is fantastic to see the Government continuing to drive the reindustrialisation of those areas to bring highly skilled, high-quality unionised jobs back to our communities, where they deserve to be.

Returning to ceramics, since this petition was started, the Government have recognised the challenge facing the ceramics sector specifically and have pledged a £120 million package of targeted support. That funding is hugely welcome, but we all know that funding alone is not enough. A lot now hangs on the design of that scheme to ensure that the money is delivered quickly and is well targeted at the companies that most need it and where it will protect the most jobs.

Crucially, the scheme should be simple for firms to apply for. Some ceramics firms employ large numbers of people, but they do not have significant back offices that can go through a very complex and heavy administrative process to access such a scheme. Although it is important that companies are asked for the right information to support the scheme, we must not create an unnecessary administrative barrier. I and other hon. Friends in the Chamber will continue to work on this alongside the GMB, other unions and the Government. We must ensure that that funding helps bolster and secure this industry for the long term rather than kicking the can down the road.

That brings me to why supporting this sector is so important—all of us in the Chamber know this, but I never miss the opportunity to remind a Minister. Ceramics manufacturing goes to the heart of identity in our counties. So many ceramics firms take their names from the towns, villages and areas in which they are based, and they have made those places famous around the world. I spoke to one hon. Member who had used an Armitage Shanks toilet in Samoa. That is a powerful form of soft power, if Members will excuse a rather crude pun.

Ceramics manufacturing jobs powered our economies. Stoke-on-Trent is literally known as the Potteries, and if I had not mentioned that, I am not sure I would have been allowed to leave the room. Just as the closure of mines struck at the identity of the towns that supported them, including places such as Stoke-on-Trent, deindustrialisation has hurt our communities.

Ceramics speaks to a proud tradition of world-class manufacturing in our counties, but it is not just about the past; it is about the present and the future. It is about providing jobs for people where, at the end of the day, they have the satisfaction of looking at a pallet of whatever they have produced and knowing that they have made something. It is a proud tradition that we should not allow to pass into the past.

To support that soft power, those iconic British brands need to know that they have a supporter in our Government. I would like to see our public procurement work much harder to make sure it is championing the best of British ceramics—actually, the best of international ceramics, because the very best of international ceramics comes from the midlands of the UK, and I will defend that hill until there is no breath left in my lungs. It is entirely possible for our public procurement to be used to support ceramics. It would be fantastic if every embassy were stocked with ceramics made in Britain. [Hon. Members: “Hear, hear!”] Again, other ceramics MPs are behind me. Every public building should also look at whether it can support British-made ceramics in its sanitaryware—and the list goes on much further than that.

I will also draw attention to the private Member’s Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Gareth Snell), which I support. The Bill relates to backstamping and the “Made in Britain” mark, so we can make sure that when something says “Made in Britain”, it is from Britain and it is of the high quality that people expect. Currently, firms can import ceramics that have been made cheaply elsewhere, glaze them here, refire them and stamp them as British. Being able to support the supply chain through not only public procurement but the backstamping Bill is very important.

Wider than that, we need to come back to the supercharger. Ceramics is an energy-intensive industry. It relies on high inputs of electricity and gas, but electricity prices in the UK are higher than in many of our competitor countries. That takes a toll on the industry and means that the supercharger scheme is so important. Entry to the scheme is based on what is known as a SIC—standard industrial classification—code and the categories that the Government use to classify businesses and identify what they do. The SIC codes in use for ceramics are not currently eligible for the scheme, but, worse still, because of the way the scheme is funded, ceramics businesses are being levied to subsidise other high-energy businesses—because if businesses do not receive the supercharger, they pay for others to get it.

Ahead of the debate, I met with the industry association Ceramics UK, the GMB union, the Trades Union Congress and Energy UK. One concern was that SIC codes are not necessarily being properly applied. The number of ceramics businesses that the Government count is far higher than the number that the sector recognises. Hopefully that is good news for Ministers, because if we can get the codes altered correctly, we will see that there are fewer ceramics businesses in need of support, which will help to reduce the headache in the Treasury.

First, we can look at tightening up the SIC codes, then we can extend the supercharger to those codes. We can then ensure that the supercharger scheme is properly funded by the Treasury and not by other businesses, so that general taxation can support these jobs. Beyond the supercharger, which is undoubtedly vital for ceramics, the Government have committed and recognise that the industry needs tailored support. I ask Ministers to look closely at the specific pressures that the sector is facing.

As well as high electricity inputs, ceramics uses a huge amount of gas. Although the cost of gas in Britain is internationally competitive, prices are highly volatile because of a lack of storage in the United Kingdom. If we could look at supporting gas storage or some other mechanism to smooth peaks and troughs in gas pricing, it would help ceramics businesses with their long-term planning and help to them look at their decarbonisation processes, too.

On decarbonisation, hydrogen gas is a promising alternative, but hydrogen kiln technology requires further investment and if we cannot pipe gas in, there will be serious supply problems. Some ceramics manufacturers run their kilns 24/7/365, and the idea of hydrogen being brought in by lorries just does not stack up. We can use the revenues from carbon levies to support the transition and protect manufacturing jobs both today and for the future.

I have gone slightly over the amount of time I was aiming for, and many other hon. Members are eager to make the case for the industry, so I will draw to a close. I reiterate my thanks to Ceramics UK, the GMB, the TUC and Energy UK for meeting me, to Hayley for spurring today’s important debate, and to every single one of the workers who go out day after day to produce fantastic, high-quality ceramics—some of the best in the world—right here in the UK.

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[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Dr Murrison. I declare my interest as a member of GMB union, and of Unite, which represents so many of the china clay workers in my constituency. That is one reason I welcome so warmly this Government’s £120 million package for the ceramics industry. I particularly welcome the £60 million of backing for capital investment in energy efficiency and decarbonisation, and the further £60 million to help manage rising costs. That is decisive support for a sector that has every right not just to survive, but to thrive in a changing world in which Governments have an absolute obligation to ensure a smooth transition.

In this world, protecting the supply of china clay is vital to insulating supply chains for not just ceramics, but construction, advanced manufacturing, technology, aerospace and defence. Domestic production is only truly protected for any industry when the whole supply chain is. In my constituency, upstream producers of Cornish china clay are part of the foundation of the ceramics sector, directly and indirectly employing thousands of local people in Cornwall. It is our strongest current mining industry, serving as a big granitic bridge between our industrial heritage and the mineral products of the future.

I will take a moment to thank the Minister for his excellent leadership in this sector, and for his lucid understanding of those supply chains and the fact that minerals represent quite clearly the biggest Cornwall-specific growth engine in the years ahead. I thank him for his work, with his Department, to help unlock the potential of that key industrial cluster for us. May I ask him, however, whether he will confirm that upstream producers, including those that extract china clay, will be eligible for the support? Can he provide me and my constituents with some clarity on when those decisions about who receives the support will be clear? Will he outline what steps he is taking for an industry with high energy costs upstream—again, ineligible for BICS, the British industrial competitiveness scheme—and facing not only the huge challenges of foreign dumping practices but, in many cases, significant environmental and legacy pension liabilities due to the labour-intensive nature of its workforce? What steps is he taking to ensure that we put that industry on a more sustainable footing?

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[Andrew Cooper]

rose—

[Noah Law]

rose—

[Dame Harriett Baldwin]

I will not give way, given how tight we are for time.

I hope Members will welcome the fact that the Conservatives have a clear and credible plan to cut energy bills, reduce regulation and lower taxes. We have a cheap power plan that will cut household energy bills by £200 a year and cut electricity bills for businesses by 20%. That could save ceramics businesses a large amount of money. It would save the average restaurant £5,500 and the average pub £1,100. We would achieve that by axing the carbon tax in full, including the UK emissions trading scheme and carbon price support.

We would also scrap the renewables obligation certificate scheme, which would free up money that is currently used to fund the payments through general taxation. We would back the North sea and get Britain drilling again, unlocking home-grown energy and generating an estimated £2.5 billion in additional tax revenues each year.

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[Chris McDonald]

This replays some of the conversations we have had on the Floor of the House. Ultimately, it is important to remember that the prices we are quoting take into account both the capital and operating costs. Our existing gas fleet would also require renewal if it was to continue beyond the mid-2030s, so there would be a capital and operating cost element for that as well.

[Noah Law]

Does the Minister share my disbelief that the Tories continue to trot out the line that the Government are auctioning off wind power at a high price, while simultaneously neglecting to mention the levelised cost of electricity for thermal power, which is at least as high but takes a lot longer to deploy? Let us bust that myth once and for all.

[Chris McDonald]

My hon. Friend put it exactly right. We need to take both capital and operating costs into account. Fundamentally, the issue comes down to a belief or view—or, in my case, looking at the economic evidence and corporate finance. Is it possible to decarbonise and reindustrialise? Yes, of course it is, and that is precisely what the Government want to do. No one in the industry is asking us to tear up climate policy—they are using the policy to invest, and have invested £100 billion since the general election on that basis.

Many people mentioned the supercharger scheme, which currently supports around 10% of the ceramics industry. Quite obviously, 10% is not 100%, but the recent uplift in the scheme to 90% compensation has benefited members. The British industrial competitiveness scheme will offer further support on advanced and technical ceramics from 2027, backdated to the current year. That will reduce electricity bills by up to £40 per megawatt hour.

Commonhold and Leasehold Reform: Managing Agents

Noah Law Excerpts

Thursday 2nd July 2026 Commons Chamber

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Florence Eshalomi) for the assiduous work that she has done with her Select Committee.

It is inspiring when we, as Back Benchers, can have genuine influence by bringing the concerns of our constituents to this House of Commons and directly into the minds of Ministers, and when improvements result from that. I can recall my hon. Friend the Housing Minister using his mobile phone to instruct officials from a debate—because he was hearing so many complaints from hon. Members—to call in the CEO of FirstPort.

I want to touch on a couple of examples from my constituency. One constituent, a customer of FirstPort, had their service charge increase from £980 in 2023 to £3,800 in 2026, causing them financial hardship because they had to take out a loan in order to pay the bill. Now they say that their property is unsellable. There was a clear lack of transparency, with repeated requests for service charge accounts allegedly being ignored. Another constituent reported significant concerns about FirstPort property management, highlighting that service charges increased from around £1,000 in 2021 to £3,400 in 2026 for broadly unchanged services. They, again, allege lack of transparency and more. Residents ultimately exercised their right to manage and appointed a new managing agent, which estimates comparable services at around £1,600 per year, suggesting that FirstPort’s charges were unduly high.

I pay tribute to the work of Labour for Leaseholders, and particularly my hon. Friends the Members for Cities of London and Westminster (Rachel Blake) and for Hendon (David Pinto-Duschinsky). We held a mini-inquiry and gave evidence to that inquiry. I think it was clear to all hon. Members that there is a captive market and that private companies and others are exploiting people; it may be within the law, but we have seen the behaviour of these companies and we are calling it out. One has to ask why and whose interests are being served—I will simply leave that question there.

In my remaining time, I want to move on to something that started as a negative and ended up as more of a positive. Residents of Eastfield House, a block of flats in Houlton in my constituency managed by Clarion Housing, repeatedly contacted me about problems. I went out to see them. I saw one of the flats, and the various problems with maintenance and lack of transparency—frankly, it was the usual story. It was deeply concerning: I saw the anguish, the stress and the upset of these people, who are having their dignity disrespected and damaged.

I contacted Clarion, which generously attended a meeting that I held with residents a few weeks later, and is taking action. The company has already given a payment to those residents, and it has a single point of contact and an action plan. It is doing what it can to improve the situation. I pay tribute to Clarion; it has shown that things can improve.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 was a very good start, and I know that the Government are consulting further. This Government are intervening in failing markets, because if we do not do so, the participants in the market will continue to do the bare minimum or, worse, to exploit people.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

Does my hon. Friend agree that a proper regulator for the property management sector, far from being anti-growth, would be a pro-growth measure bringing transparency and good functioning to these incredibly opaque markets that exploit leaseholders and renters?

[John Slinger]

I entirely agree. As I was saying, the market is failing, and many of the participants in the market will continue to do the bare minimum or, at worst, exploit people. As we have heard from hon. Members, some of those companies and individuals will continue to push the limits of decency, and possibly legality, because there is no accountability. Let us make it as hard as we can for them. Let us protect and empower the people who really count: the leaseholders.

In my remaining seconds, I ask the Minister to touch on the point raised by my right hon. Friend the Member for Hayes and Harlington (John McDonnell) about the need to look at the right-to-manage process. I suggest that the threshold should be reduced to 30% or that a deemed consent process should be brought in so that our residents can take control of poor estate management. We owe it to them; they deserve dignity in the housing that they have purchased.

Critical Minerals Strategy

Noah Law Excerpts

Monday 24th November 2025 Commons Chamber

[Chris McDonald]

I do not know about the right hon. Gentleman, but when I am setting objectives, I like them to be specific, measurable and achievable. We have worked carefully with industry on the 2035 target, and projects such as those I mentioned in Cornwall clearly have mobilisation periods. He may be right to point out the synergy between the 2035 date of our critical minerals strategy and of our defence strategy, given that they are so closely linked.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

As chairman of the all-party parliamentary group on critical minerals, I greatly welcome the strategy released this weekend. Domestic supplies of critical minerals are of huge importance to our economic security and resilience in an ever more turbulent world. They are also a potential source of jobs and prosperity, particularly in places like mid-Cornwall, which, like the Minister’s own home, were once rich with the spoils of industry and can be once again. May I welcome the Minister meeting Cornish industry, Cornish workers and our supply chain businesses to agree how we ensure that the spoils of the industry cascade through every level of the local workforce, supply chains and even local ownership?

[Chris McDonald]

I thank my hon. Friend for his work on the all-party parliamentary group on critical minerals and for working with the Critical Minerals Association; their work in advance of this strategy was incredibly helpful. He speaks well in championing his area in Cornwall, where there are projects involving Cornish Lithium and British Lithium. I can assure him that I will meet both those companies and speak to the management and the workforce when I am in Cornwall tomorrow.

Oral Answers to Questions

Noah Law Excerpts

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Henry Tufnell (Mid and South Pembrokeshire) (Lab)]

4. What recent progress he has made on implementing the industrial strategy.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

9. What recent progress he has made on implementing the industrial strategy.

[Euan Stainbank (Falkirk) (Lab)]

14. What recent progress he has made on implementing the industrial strategy.

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[Noah Law]

Cornwall has a huge role to play in making Britain a clean energy superpower. As Ministers will be aware, much thought has already gone into the making of an industrial strategy for Cornwall. The crucial piece now is to unlock the funding needed for industrial and economic development, particularly in the wake of the shared prosperity fund coming to an end. What discussions has the Minister had with colleagues in the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government about the prospect of a set of investment measures to replace shared prosperity funding and ensure the realisation of Cornwall’s unique industrial potential?

[Blair McDougall]

I know from holidaying in my hon. Friend’s constituency that it is a place of incredible beauty, but I know from his constant advocacy that it is also a place of huge industrial potential. Cornwall will benefit from access to the £200 million investment fund, which provides debt and equity finance of up to £5 million for businesses in the south-west. That has already delivered £51.8 million of direct investment, leveraging an additional £48.1 million. I know he has big plans for industry in Cornwall, and we will work with him, especially on access to finance, to ensure that we can unlock that potential. We will of course work with our colleagues in MHCLG.

UK Modern Industrial Strategy

Noah Law Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jonathan Reynolds]

This industrial strategy seeks to deliver more inward investment. For example, Universal is making an incredible investment in Bedfordshire, where is seeks to deliver the biggest theme park in Europe, creating 8,000 jobs in hospitality. People should recognise that there is a direct relationship between what we are doing here, what we are trying to get more of and the kind of benefits that the hon. Gentleman talks about. We have set a target of 50 million visitors by 2030, so such issues are represented in the strategy and, as I say, some of the issues that are not covered will be in the small business plan, which will come out imminently next month.

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

As the chair of the all-party parliamentary group on critical minerals, I have an interest that I know you share, Madam Deputy Speaker, in critical minerals. I welcome the strategy’s recognition of the role that regional clusters, like that in Cornwall, can play. Given Cornwall’s resurgent critical minerals ecosystem, what steps is the Secretary of State taking to ensure that the region is at the forefront of secure domestic supply chains, and that we benefit directly from that growth in green industrial jobs?

[Jonathan Reynolds]

That is a great question. I remember our conversations about critical minerals, Madam Deputy Speaker. They are a key enabler and they will be even more important in the future. My hon. Friend will know that some of the National Wealth Fund’s initial investments have been into different critical minerals businesses in his region, because of the importance of that part of the UK to this strategy. We need more international co-operation on critical minerals as well, but he should rest assured that the British Business Bank and the National Wealth Fund are focused on this area because it is so important, and there will be big benefits to his area from that.

Critical Minerals: Domestic Production

Noah Law Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd December 2024 Westminster Hall

[Noah Law (St Austell and Newquay) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Bournemouth East (Tom Hayes) for his speech and my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth (Perran Moon) for securing this vital debate and for his thorough introduction to critical minerals. I must begin by declaring an interest as chair of the all-party parliamentary group on critical minerals. In my capacity as chair, I hope to champion the UK’s critical minerals sector and encourage the Government to use all economic and educational levers available to support UK domestic production, stimulate growth and ensure that we exploit the sector’s vast untapped potential.

In my constituency of St Austell and Newquay, we are privileged to sit atop the heart of the largest lithium resource in Europe. It is a vital mineral for the green energy transition, as we have heard. For those not familiar with the properties of lithium, it is a key component in batteries that power electric vehicles, as well as being essential for the renewable energy storage that we need. It is key for many other crucial technologies that will be part of our low-carbon future.

The distillation of raw materials in Cornwall, with our unique geology, present an unparalleled economic opportunity not seen since the 19th century when we dominated the global mining market in tin and copper. Let me stress the magnitude of that opportunity and what it potentially means for Cornwall. Lithium mining offers the chance to revitalise that legacy in a way that stimulates Cornwall’s economy and turbocharges our country’s clean energy mission. It is therefore imperative that the Government support the development of this burgeoning sector and work with cutting-edge businesses like Cornish Lithium, which is pursuing environmentally responsible lithium extraction from geothermal waters and hard rock with pioneering technology. By doing so, Cornwall can emerge as a leader in critical mineral production globally, with benefits cascading across local and national economies.

On a broader scale, securing the domestic supply of critical minerals is not just a matter of economic opportunity for local people in my constituency, in Cornwall and beyond; it is a matter of national security. Currently, the UK is over-reliant on imports from nations such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Many of the countries in the supply chain sit squarely within either the Chinese or Russian spheres of influence. That dependence exposes us to significant risks, including geopolitical instability, ethical concerns surrounding the supply chains, and the potential for resource monopolies. I suggest that if we are to go globetrotting for our critical minerals, we should trot very carefully indeed and prioritise our domestic powerhouse of production.

Investing in domestic production, especially of lithium, will strengthen our energy security, reduce vulnerabilities and ensure that the transition to renewable energy is underpinned by a resilient and ethical supply chain. Cornwall is uniquely positioned to contribute to this national ambition. We are also able to spread the wealth that will come from a production epicentre in Cornwall across the whole of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

For the industry to flourish, we must address the skills gap. Institutions such as the Camborne School of Mines, which we have already heard about, and the Truro STEM centre are at the forefront of educating the next generation of workers for the industry. I look forward to the forthcoming investment in Cornwall college in the next year or so, as historically it has been an excellent source of talent for further education. The potential is immense: more than 100 degree-level apprenticeships could be offered at Camborne alone, and a similar number of mineral processing apprenticeships are available in Truro. Each major player in the critical minerals industry forecasts the need to train around 300 staff just in terms of direct employees, not to speak of the vast supply chain required. That makes it ever more crucial that we harness local talent to plug into the supply chain.

To achieve all that, we must provide the necessary resources for the teaching institutions, including incentives to attract and retain skilled teaching staff who may work in very lucrative industries and find it difficult to justify coming back to teach the next generation. The Government should consider additional measures in terms of funding or salary enhancements to ensure that educators are not drawn away by the competitive salaries offered overseas in the industry itself. Further education deserves parity of funding and esteem, given its vital role in growing this vital industry. It is crucial that we align Skills England’s methodology with the reality of emerging industries to capture the nascent but fast-growing demand for skills. A forward-thinking industrial strategy, informed by the business-level and project-level data, is essential to anticipate and meet the needs of the sector.

On our infrastructure challenges—there are many in Cornwall in particular—Cornwall’s potential to lead in the production of critical minerals will be realised only if we address the intertwined challenges of housing, transport and, of course, the grid. Cornwall suffers from a protracted housing crisis, with the proliferation of second homes resulting in a severe lack of affordable housing for local people. The Government’s drive to build social and affordable homes must therefore be accelerated in Cornwall to ensure that our local talent pool, which the industry is so keen to unlock, is not driven out of the region, as so many have been before.

Similarly, transport links must be drastically improved. The woeful state of the road connecting St Austell and Newquay offers a prime example of the difficulties of getting goods, services and people to flow around our county. It is essential that efficient, sustainable transport for workers, businesses and supply chains functions correctly. The current state of our infrastructure is dire. It is a critical component of creating the conditions for success in the sector, so I welcome the Minister’s visit in the spring, when we can go further into the specifics of an investment plan for Cornwall.

Finally, funding remains a significant hurdle for critical minerals exploration in Cornwall. The current funding landscape presents a huge challenge, and the schemes available for smaller projects are far too limited. The gap must be addressed if we are to enable early-stage mineral production projects, for example, and to progress the commercial viability of the small and medium-sized enterprises that will form the backbone of the Cornish mining supply chain. I therefore urge the Minister to consider reforms to the funding structures.

The EIS has been mentioned in the context of supporting critical mineral exploration. It is a great shame that we have some of the world’s finest overseas development export and offtake finance institutions but our ability to support home-grown mining companies with offtake and other specialised financing agreements that support the UK’s energy security is not good enough. By providing tailored financial support, we can unlock the sector’s potential, ensure that domestic supply chains are robust and self-sustaining, and bring prosperity to our proud clay country villages in Cornwall, and to the country more widely.

In leading the debate, my hon. Friend the Member for Camborne and Redruth underscored how vital it is for our national security, energy resilience and climate goals that we secure the domestic production of critical minerals. With its rich mineral resources, skilled workforce and the support of the Government, Cornwall is uniquely placed to succeed in the sector and to be at the epicentre of the critical minerals revolution. By seizing that opportunity, we can not only transform Cornwall into a global hub for sustainable critical mineral production, but inspire a model of regional regeneration that places communities and climate action at its heart. Let us ensure that the rewards of the industry are shared as widely as possible, secure a thriving future for Cornwall and set the standard for the rest of the United Kingdom.