Track-2 Acorn Cluster

Happy birthday, Mr Speaker. We have always been clear that we support the Acorn project. My colleagues and I have had many discussions with the industry, and we know what an important proposal it is. As we have said, the decision is a matter for the spending review, but we are close to having those decisions. I thank the hon. Member for speaking up on behalf of the Acorn project, as many hon. Members across the House have done.

Many happy returns, Mr Speaker. Proposals for carbon capture and storage near Peterhead in my constituency have been kicked into the long grass by successive UK Governments. Last week, a report by Professor Paul de Leeuw of Robert Gordon University warned of the need for urgent action to protect the energy supply chain and accelerate the just transition; he warned that thousands upon thousands of jobs were at risk. While I know the Secretary of State recognises that the Acorn project is a strategic cornerstone of the transition to a low-carbon future and economic growth in the north-east of Scotland and the nation. will the Government finally commit the funding necessary for the project to proceed?

We know how important carbon capture, usage and storage is—the Climate Change Committee said there is no route to net zero that does not include carbon capture—with, of course, up to 50,000 good, well-paid jobs across the UK. The Government have already shown their commitment to carbon capture with a £21.7 billion investment. I am afraid that the hon. Member will have to wait until the spending review for the final decisions, but I hope he agrees that we are putting in place ambitious, substantial carbon capture plans that will drive growth across the country.

Acorn would go some way to reindustrialising areas of Scotland, which is much needed. I welcomed the Government committing £200 million from the national wealth fund for future industry at Grangemouth in my constituency. To avoid us again being in the precarious position of having private-capital or foreign-Government ownership dictate our future energy industries, do the Government plan to take any ownership stake in the industries that will be coming at Grangemouth?

My hon. Friend is right to say that we lost thousands of jobs under the previous Government, whether in ceramics, chemicals or steel. The previous Government saw foundational industries through the rear-view mirror, but we know that these industries will forge our future. That is why we are rushing to get to clean energy by 2030 so that we can bring prices down, why we are supporting our industries through the supercharger, and why through the industrial strategy we are looking to provide more support, not less, to those crucial foundational industries.