21:05 Jonathan Gullis (Stoke-on-Trent North) (Con)

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this important debate. The ceramics sector has not received the level of support that many other energy-intensive sectors have to help with the transition and decarbonisation. Does he agree that, given that 97% of businesses in the ceramics industry are SMEs, the ceramics sector really needs a dedicated pot of funding from the Government to invest in the transition and in improving energy efficiency measures?

I am extremely grateful to my hon. Friend for his fantastic words. He is indeed correct to say that the ceramics industry has already put about half a billion pounds of its own money into decarbonisation and energy efficiency. I totally agree and understand that steel is important to this nation’s history as well as its future, but ceramics are just as important. Ceramics are in our mobile phones, and our kneecaps in some cases, as well as in the aerospace adventures we want to see—aeroplane engines literally would not fly without the ceramic film that goes around them. Ceramics are so important, with about 20,000 jobs across our United Kingdom dependent on them, so I hope we will see some support for them. The chase to net zero is fine, but we cannot do it by damaging the ceramics sector. We want to remain competitive with the world while China continues to dump its cheap, unruly products on our country unfairly. Thankfully, we are protected by tariffs for now—we need a longer-term commitment to them—but we also need the carbon border scheme and adjustments to ensure that we are competitive with mainland Europe. I totally concur with my hon. Friend.

The UK ceramics industry is working tirelessly to become carbon neutral, as my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent South pointed out. In an energy-intensive industry, in the current energy crisis, this is all the more commendable. With the publication of the Skidmore review on net zero, the House should note that China still builds most of the world’s coal-fired power stations. UK ceramics manufacturers have to compete against a country that is not tied down by net zero targets. Many UK ceramics businesses are working with the British Ceramic Confederation to research the production of various ceramic products using hydrogen-fired kilns, and many UK ceramics manufacturers have signed up to the confederation’s net zero commitment by 2050.

In May, the British Ceramic Confederation was delighted to announce that £300,000 of Government funding had been awarded for a project to study the feasibility of using hydrogen as a fuel for the UK ceramics sector as the industry pushes towards net zero targets. This was a fantastic and highly welcome first step in supporting the ceramic industry to achieve net zero. Today, I ask the Minister to clarify what next steps the Government will take to further advance our goal of achieving net zero by 2050 by providing direct support on innovation to the UK ceramics industry? Will the Minister meet me and colleagues from the ceramics sector to explore direct research funding?

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21:20 Nus Ghani (Conservative)

My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister has set out our objective, which is to grow the economy with better-paid jobs and improved opportunities throughout the country. If we are to meet that objective, energy-intensive industries such as ceramics, glass and steel will be crucial. As we continue our transition to net zero, about which my hon. Friend spoke so passionately, they will also be crucial to the manufacture of everything from electric cars to wind turbines, and we will do all we can to support them. In my role as Minister for Industry, I have engaged with business and trade associations, and have witnessed at first hand their drive and passion to work with the Government to find a sustainable solution to those challenges that works for us all.

We can all agree that the last few years have been exceptionally difficult for everyone, and energy-intensive industries were no exception. Looking forward, however, I am confident that we can deliver a better future, unlocking the opportunities that net zero offers to build resilient industries bringing growth and jobs to communities across the country and providing security, opportunity and prosperity in the years to come. We have already made enormous progress: between 1990 and 2019 we grew our economy by 76% and cut our emissions by 44%, decarbonising faster than any other G7 country.

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