19:12 Tom Blenkinsop (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)

On the energy economy, Lord Heseltine rightly praises the work done so far to build the industry in Teesside. I hope that the Department of Energy and Climate Change will continue to work with local partners, in line with the approach outlined in the devolution deal. Lord Heseltine also rightly asks the Government to clarify their position on the carbon capture and storage industry. Their decision not to proceed with the CCS commercialisation competition has left a lot of uncertainty about the future of the industry. I asked for clarification of that point in April, and my hon. Friend the Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) received an answer as recently as 1 June stating that the Government would set out their approach to CCS “in due course”. That is not good enough for Lord Heseltine; it is not good enough for me and my constituents; and it is certainly not good enough for potential CCS investors in Teesside, including existing energy-intensive industries. I hope a statement on the Government’s approach to the industry, which will only grow in importance in my constituency, will be presented soon.

Perhaps the Minister will be able to assuage my fears and commit the Government to the following: providing additional resources to the mayoral development corporation to ensure that its role in not limited to maintaining the SSI site but includes renewing its potential; re-evaluating the free port proposal for an area including the SSI site; acting to support the remaining works in Teesside and actively exploring how skills in institutes such as the MPI can give the industry a secure footing; setting money aside to fund an additional road crossing over the Tees; re-examining the proposal to include the electrification of the Northallerton to Teesport line in the trans-Pennine scheme; prioritising the Tees valley in the roll-out of the national teaching service, given Lord Heseltine’s criticism of educational establishments in the area—that should include addressing parity of school funding not just for Teesside schools, but for schools throughout the north that are not receiving as much as those in the south; continuing to commit resources and support from the Department of Energy and Climate Change to the energy sector in Teesside; and developing a new plan to support carbon capture and storage in the Tees valley.

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