Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill

Sally Jameson Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 11th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Sally Jameson (Doncaster Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Since entering this place almost a year ago, I have been proud to be a part of the campaign led by my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) to reopen Doncaster Sheffield airport and unleash the economic potential of the surrounding land as a hub for sustainable aviation. Our airport is a source of pride for all of us in Doncaster and South Yorkshire. We all eagerly anticipate the first flight for holidaymakers, but also—perhaps more importantly—we are looking forward to the high-skill, high-wage jobs that the airport will bring, and not just for people in Doncaster and South Yorkshire today, but for young people for generations to come.

That is why my right hon. Friends the Members for Doncaster North (Ed Miliband) and for Rawmarsh and Conisbrough (John Healey), my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme (Lee Pitcher) and I, along with Mayor Ros Jones and Mayor Oliver Coppard, and indeed the whole of South Yorkshire, were delighted that this Labour Government backed £30 million of devolved funding into our airport. I thank the Secretary of State for Transport and the Minister with responsibility for aviation for their support in our airport, our area and our potential.

A Government who prioritise growth must ensure that it is place based and felt in every corner of the country.

[Lee Pitcher (Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend and neighbour for giving way and for what she has said today. Does she agree that there is real potential for farmers to contribute by supporting feed stock from winter crops, creating a circular environmental economy that helps the local economy to grow further with new kinds of jobs, including for people who live in rural areas?

[Sally Jameson]

I absolutely agree. The Bill is not just about the small, narrow element of sustainable aviation; it is about what every industry across the country can do in the shared endeavour to make our aviation sustainable.

If this Government’s growth agenda is to be a success, it must be felt in every corner of the country, including Doncaster and South Yorkshire, and I am pleased that with our airport investment and the backing from the Prime Minister—reiterated just today by the Chancellor—this Government have proved that they will do just that.

As the Secretary of State said, low-carbon fuels could support up to 15,000 jobs and contribute £5 billion to the economy by 2050. The Sustainable Aviation Fuel Bill is a promising boost to our ambition in Doncaster to create a sustainable aviation hub linked to our airport, proving, despite what some on the Opposition Benches may say, that the green agenda and the sustainability agenda are firmly woven into—and are, in fact, essential to—the regeneration of areas that have often been forgotten, such as mine, and to the industries of the future, good jobs for young people and the security of the nation.

The Bill’s revenue certainty mechanism will widen opportunities for innovators, entrepreneurs and producers of fuels, propelling our aviation industry to world-class levels and helping us to become world leaders in an emerging market that will benefit our economy, our industry and our climate.

Perhaps most importantly, this critical infrastructure is sorely needed in Doncaster, and indeed across the country, to bring about the high-skill, high-wage jobs for my constituents and for young people across South Yorkshire. I know that our airport will champion the Government’s aviation fuel ambitions, as will I.