Speeches by Reynolds.

“I absolutely recognise that, in all the initiatives we are putting forward today that apply across the UK, every area deserves its fair share of the funding. Of course, many of the policies that I and the Department are responsible for disproportionately benefit Wales. Under the clean steel fund, the money going to Por…”

“I think it was about a year ago when my hon. Friend and I were on the campaign trail in her constituency and visited businesses with the message that we would implement a strategy of this kind. I think that the Scottish economy, when mapped against our eight industrial strategy sectors, could be a description of Scotti…”

“I always take a close interest in success stories from the north-east of England, and what my hon. Friend outlines is incredibly exciting. The high-tech SME cluster that he talks about will benefit in many ways from each of the sector plans, whether they are in advanced manufacturing, creative industries or defence. Th…”

“It is brilliant to hear from my hon. Friend; she has so much to be proud of in her constituency. I have visited Farnborough on several occasions, and it has a range of things that are directly represented in this strategy. I also thank her for being a huge ally on the work that we have done on access to finance for the…”

“I thoroughly thank my hon. Friend for her question and for all her work in her role in Parliament advocating for these issues. There is a huge amount in this strategy for the sectors that she outlines. I was very proud of the work that we did with Hitachi. On cars, it is about the tariffs, the Drive 35 programme, energ…”

“I will be frank with my hon. Friend’s constituents. In the past, Governments have produced documents that do not have much longevity but have a lot of analysis without necessarily having real measures behind them. That is why we have launched this strategy on energy, finance and skills, on the powers that local areas n…”

“It is very important that we show the British people that the added investment and huge increase in defence spending from this Government will see real economic benefits for them and opportunities for their families, as well as fulfilling the core function of national security. My hon. Friend mentions devolution. We ha…”

“My hon. Friend raises some very important and serious questions. Universities play a huge role in innovation and are a vital part of the clusters we are creating, but in themselves, they are something of which we should be incredibly proud. We have a world-class university sector, and every parliamentarian should be pr…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for his question, which I greatly appreciate. Worcester plays a wonderful role in our economy, and it is great to hear about that level of local ambition from him and other local leaders. There are specific funds to support innovation: £500 million has been allocated for innovation, which will be…”

“I am more than happy to tell my hon. Friend. We have breakdowns for every region going to every colleague; there is so much for each part of the UK that I could not possibly do it justice from the Dispatch Box. On his point about clean energy, there is so much money coming into the UK—and more in future—that it would b…”

“I thank my hon. Friend for her question. She has already heard me outline the eligibility, and the foundational role that ceramics plays in the strategy and the support it can receive. She is also right that we have committed to the energy-intensive industries compensation scheme review that the industry wanted. We sho…”

“I certainly would love to visit—I am happy to commit to that. I am surprised that my hon. Friend did not claim her constituency to be the birthplace of the industrial revolution, because I think a few colleagues have gone there, and she has a claim to it as well. Whether it is funding for lower energy costs, skills in …”

“Derby has an incredible pedigree in engineering skills. I agree with the case that my hon. Friend has made so strongly. I have added some funding from my own Department to that from the Department for Education around engineering, because the shortages are so acute and the opportunities so great. These are great jobs, …”

“I welcome the hon. Gentleman’s support and the contribution his local area can make. In some areas, we have a lot of good things going on, but it needs to happen faster and we have to make sure that we execute the plans we have in place. That sounds like exactly the sort of challenge in this area that we should commit …”

“Further education has had a difficult time over the past few years and we are starting to see the kind of investment that will make a difference. We need more business input into skills’ policy, which I think is the kind of work that my hon. Friend was talking about. I am more than happy to come up the road from Stalyb…”

“Yes, our officials are in close contact with all our partners in all the devolved Governments. We respect policy differences through devolution, but the kinds of things we are addressing are of interest to every part of the UK.”

“I recognise the case that the hon. Gentleman makes. Some of the courses that we need and that are central to our economy—engineering is a good example—are more expensive to put on and need greater capacity. When I talk about a funding package, it is to deliver the business-led, needs-led courses to which he refers, and…”

“I recognise that there are some regulatory issues that my hon. Friend was probably asking about, particularly in relation to the lead that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs would have on extended producer responsibility and some other aspects. I am always keen to work with colleagues across Governm…”

“I welcome my hon. Friend’s question; he is right that VPAG is significant to the life sciences sector plan and that the industry is looking for resolution on it. The life sciences sector plan will be formally launched by Cabinet colleagues to coincide with the anniversary of the foundation of the NHS. Talks with indust…”

“I say to my hon. Friend that I think Ceramics UK is misplaced in that criticism. Ceramics is recognised as a foundational sector: it is part of the materials foundational sector in the strategy. Its principal request is about energy prices. There are some ceramics businesses—I accept not that many—that get the supercha…”