I have started this week by once more urging the national government to do more to support our work to bring greater economic prosperity to the region.
The Vivergo Fuels plant in Hull is under real threat of imminent closure - meaning potential loss of local jobs at the site; thousands of farms being at risk, particularly in East Yorkshire; and the entire UK bioethanol sector facing peril. I visited Vivergo last week and wrote directly to the Prime Minister, pressing for government intervention, and requesting an urgent meeting. Today I have joined forces with Ben Houchen, my counterpart in the Tees Valley, where another major employer is under threat, and written a joint urgent letter to government.
You can access the letters on this webpage. The issue is a late clause added to the UK-US trade deal, removing tariffs on imported bioethanol. This is set to flood the UK with cheap, subsidised imports. Some 12,500 farms have sold wheat which can’t be used for milling to Vivergo alone. Furthermore, it is the UK’s biggest bioethanol plant, and therefore a vital part of both our national energy security and the green, clean CO2 supply chain.
So, we are in a race against time to try and save more than 4,000 jobs, the majority in Hull and East Yorkshire, this vital income stream for farms - and the entire industry. I have called for the government to intervene now and change the US-UK trade deal - or thousands of British jobs and the UK’s bioethanol industry will be lost.
Last week I also wrote to the government following the Spending Review. It needs to do much more for our area, following many years of underfunding by previous governments. We have secured out first-ever multi-year transport deal, expected to be worth around £100 million, but we are still way behind funding awarded to other, often long-established Midlands and Northern Combined Authorities.
As a very new Combined Authority, we are working hard to develop strategic plans across transport, housing, skills, and wider economic development and growth. The Government needs to match our ambitions in the future and give Hull and East Yorkshire the fair funding it deserves. It’s still early days, and we won’t stop making the case.