Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Freeports

Wednesday 25 May 2022 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 2 Partly answered 0 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Wales Office has worked to ensure the establishment of a freeport in Wales, which will deliver jobs and investment.
  • An agreement has been reached between the UK and Welsh Governments to deliver the freeport in Wales.
  • The Welsh freeport is expected to bring mutual benefits to other freeports and be good for the Union and Wales.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Paul Holmes Con Hamble Valley
Wales Business & Trade
Context

Paul Holmes questions the progress towards establishing a freeport in Wales, emphasizing its potential economic benefits.

Question

What steps his Department is taking to support the development of plans for at least one freeport in Wales.

Answer from David Davies

The Wales Office has worked tirelessly to ensure there will be a freeport, which will deliver jobs and investment into Wales. As announced earlier this month, an agreement has now been reached between the UK and Welsh Governments to deliver that freeport, and this agreement will be backed by millions of pounds of Government funding.

Answered
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Q2 Paul Holmes Con Hamble Valley
Wales Business & Trade
Context

Holmes welcomes the Government's decision to have a freeport in Wales and asks about its mutual benefits, emphasizing economic advantages and importance of the Union.

Question

I welcome the Government's decision to have at least one freeport in Wales like the Solent freeport, which covers part of my constituency. Does my hon. Friend agree that, as well as bringing jobs and trade to Wales, it will bring mutual benefits to other freeports, it will be vibrant, and it is a stark reminder of why the Union between Wales and England is so important?

Answer from David Davies

I agree with both of those excellent points. We have already seen that the Thames freeport has suggested that there will be 21,000 jobs directly and indirectly created, so we know that the Welsh freeport will deliver jobs. I also agree that it is going to be good for the Union and good for Wales to have vessels of all kinds coming from all over the world, bringing their jobs and investment with them, including perhaps from across the Union—we may even look forward to seeing a few ferries from Scotland, if the SNP Government can actually get around to building them.

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