---

Car Manufacturing

I, too, congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) on securing the debate. He is making a debate here in Westminster Hall on the motor industry a regular feature, and quite right too, given the industry's enormous importance to jobs, innovation, skills, GDP and exports. Some colleagues may have seen a huge and excellent poster as they drive past Cowley, which has a picture of the Mini, saying ““Made in Oxford””, and then the words ““Sold in”” with the flags of more than 80 countries. That is a real tribute to the skill and commitment of all the work force at Cowley and at the Swindon and Hams Hall plants, which make up the Mini production triangle, and to all the suppliers and those who are out there selling the cars. Let us remember the big contribution made to the UK car industry by the dealership network, which is another important part of the industry and has certainly raised its game in recent years. I am pleased that my good and right hon. Friend the Minister will respond to the debate. We were pleased that he was able to join us for the formal launch of production of the Mini Clubman in Oxford in September. We were particularly glad that the Government sent a tall Minister, because it provided a practical demonstration of the excellent legroom in the new Mini Clubman. Since we last debated the automotive industry here, the Mini has continued to go from strength to strength, with not only the successful launch of the Clubman but the millionth Mini coming off the production line in April and, this year alone, 202,000 Minis sold worldwide—an increase of more than 16 per cent. on the same period last year. I wish to make a few points about the environmental challenges and opportunities facing the industry, to which my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield (Richard Burden) referred. What the public interest in the industry needs, and what we must work with the EU to ensure, is a stable and transparent framework of expectations and requirements on fuel consumption, emissions and recyclable materials, which is demanding of the industry and incentivises the right performance but also allows for the lead times and investment needed for new technologies and processes. It is important that the Government work with the industry and the trade unions so that there is a joint approach on those crucial issues. I look to the Minister to assure us that they are doing that. In the industry, there is both recognition of the need to improve environmental performance and cut its carbon footprint and the will to do so, building on the considerable progress on emissions and fuel efficiency that has already been achieved. Certainly at Cowley, there have been significant advances. The plant has cut the energy consumption for each Mini made by 20 per cent. in the past five years. Water consumption is down by more than 30 per cent. per unit, and waste recycling is up by 134 per cent. The company is committed to further reducing carbon dioxide emissions, energy and water consumption by 5 per cent. per vehicle per year. The Mini Cooper D has one of the lowest carbon emission levels of any car worldwide at 104 g of CO2 per km, thus matching the latest hybrid vehicles. I have no doubt that with a well thought out regulatory framework and continuing investment in research and development, technology and skills, further progress is not only possible but will be achieved right across the industry, so that environmental delivery comes together with the continual increases in productivity for which the industry in already renowned. I want to flag up with the Minister a separate matter that will have a bearing on other car plants, given the global nature of the industry and its ownership. It is important that current proposals about linking work permits to English language ability do not override other considerations, and particularly that they do not result in other countries feeling encouraged to put language barriers in the way of British workers being employed abroad. Within BMW—and, I am sure, other companies—there are regular transfers of personnel between not only the UK and Germany, but operations in other countries. We all know that public policy is full of the unintended consequences of well intended initiatives, and I am sure that we do not want restrictions on movement within transnational companies to be one of them. I ask my right hon. Friend the Minister to keep an eye on that. This debate is an opportunity for us to talk up British manufacturing and the enormous amount being achieved both by workers and companies in the car industry here. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Northfield talked about the repatriation of engine production from Brazil to Hams Hall. That is clear evidence that there is nothing inexorable about automotive production and sourcing shifting to low wage economies. On the contrary, the more sophisticated the product, the more advanced our innovation and design, and the better the skills of our work force and supply industries, the more chance we have of retaining relative competitive strategic advantage in this country. I believe that with the right commitment to investment, R and D and skills, and with the right partnership between Government and trade unions, rising environmental expectations are not just a challenge but an opportunity that we can and must make the most of.