Shockat Adam

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Dr Huq. I thank the hon. Member for Rushcliffe (James Naish) for securing this debate. As my colleagues have mentioned, the east midlands is an absolutely fantastic region with great cities, towns and villages, a fantastic location and the most fundamental thing: wonderful people. I will give a quick anecdote. Ten years ago, my team, Leicester City, stood at the top of the premiership. We were about to be crowned the champions of England. It was a fairytale. Ten years later, we sit at the bottom of the championship, about to go into league one. That is what happens when we take our eye off the ball: lack of investment, lack of strategy, and taking things for granted. Much has already been said about the region, and others will say more, but in my short time today I will focus on two things. The first is the manufacturing industry. Leicester was once known for clothing the world, and even today it supports 11,000 jobs in garment manufacturing and retains the rare ability to produce garments end to end in a single city. The capability and skills are there, but unfortunately the investment is not. Businesses face growing skills shortages, particularly in the manufacturing and digital sectors, with vacancies rising by over 150% in recent years. I ask the Minister three simple questions. First, when will the Government address the clear imbalance in infrastructure and transport funding in the east midlands? Considerably less is spent on transport there than in the west midlands; in fact, compared with Birmingham, it is less than half. Secondly, what more will be done to close the skills gap, particularly through vocational training and apprenticeships aligned to local industry? Thirdly, will the Government use public procurement more strategically, particularly in the defence and NHS supply chains, to support British manufacturing in regions such as Leicester? The east midlands does not lack potential. What it lacks is parity and equity. With fair investment and targeted support, it can once again be a driving force for UK growth.