Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to promote the manufacturing sector in (1) Lincolnshire and (2) the East Midlands.

The Government is committed to supporting manufacturing in Lincolnshire and the wider East Midlands. We are backing the sector through targeted investment, skills programmes and support for innovation. The East Midlands Freeport – England’s only inland freeport – is creating new manufacturing opportunities, attracting investment and generating high‑skilled jobs. Through the Local Growth Fund, we are helping local authorities and businesses strengthen supply chains and adopt new technologies. Manufacturers across Lincolnshire and the East Midlands also benefit from wider UK measures, outlined in the Advanced Manufacturing Sector Plan.

The sector plan sets out how the Industrial Strategy will be delivered for the sector by reforming the business environment to build resilience, removing supply side barriers, developing a digitally literate and highly skilled workforce through the Upskilling and Reskilling programme, and unlocking the economic potential of advanced manufacturing clusters.