Isle of Wight MP, Bob Seely, wants the next-generation of Border Patrol vessels to be built on the Isle of Wight.
Mr Seely pressed Ministers in Parliament on the need to invest further in the Island’s shipbuilding industry by commissioning the building of next-generation Border Patrol vessels at Wight Shipyard.
He said:
“The Isle of Wight may well be putting in the only UK bid, and it will be a highly competitive one. Those boats have been made in Holland before. It would be nice to see them made in the UK and preferably on the Island, bringing that wealth to the Isle of Wight and also along the south coast.”
His calls come after the Island was awarded £5.8 million from the Government's Levelling Up fund.
The money will fund a series of projects including improvements to the Columbine building in East Cowes, development of the barracks nearby and the building of a new community square.
He said:
“I congratulate the Government on their decision to back the Isle of Wight’s levelling-up bid last week and moving it up into tranche 1, accepting my arguments. I am most grateful for that.”
Referring to the specifics of the bid, he said:
"That £6 million is going to buy quite a few things, but most importantly it will buy the capability to be able to lift 240-tonne ships out of the water at East Cowes. It will be a massive boost for jobs and for Wight shipyards and aluminium boats.”
Responding to the Government’s amendment to the Universal Credit taper rate – which governs the amount of money that claimants receive should they earn above a certain threshold – Mr Seely said he welcomed the change:
“We are enabling our constituents to make work worthwhile, getting work into families and giving them prosperity and hope. That may well be the most important thing that has come out of this Budget, and it may be influential for years to come.”
Isle of Wight NHS Trust boss Maggie Oldham has been praised by MP Bob Seely in Parliament.
Mr Seely has thanked Ms Oldham for helping to take the Trust out of special measures, following an inspection this summer.
Addressing Ministers in the House of Commons, he said:
“I want to put on record my thanks to Maggie Oldham at the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, who has taken the trust out of special measures. It is now rated as good.”
Maggie Oldham is leaving the Trust on secondment next month (December).
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