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Written question asked by Anthony Mangnall (Conservative) on Tuesday, 21 July 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 September 2020. It was answered by Nadhim Zahawi (Conservative) on Monday, 7 September 2020 on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

Imports: China

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the reliance on China for (a) pharmaceuticals, (b) microchips and (c) cobalt batteries.

Answer

The Government is working hard to ensure we have resilient and diverse supply chains in place to ensure the continued flow of essential goods for UK consumers. This includes looking at our trading relationships with a range of international partners, as well as considering domestic initiatives to promote our economic recovery.

The Government committed £146 million through the first Life Sciences Sector Deal to grow medicines manufacturing in the UK. We have established the Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership with industry to ensure that the UK is recognised as a world-class advanced centre for medicines manufacturing.

The Government has also committed £274 million to the Faraday Battery Challenge to support the research, development, and scale-up of world-leading battery technology in the UK. The Faraday Battery Challenge is funding research to reduce our dependency on raw mineral supply and make better use of global resources such as cobalt.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
77814
Session
2019-21
Transferred
Yes
Subjects
China Drugs Imports Batteries Microprocessors Cobalt
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk