The Business Secretary has insisted battery start-up Britishvolt must meet agreed milestones before it can access part of a £100m grant, promised to it earlier this year.
Grant Shapps, who took over the brief a little more than a week ago, said the money was still "absolutely available" - but was contingent on Britishvolt meeting certain criteria which the Government has previously outlined, as firmed up customers and further private investment. He made the comments on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, a day after Britishvolt's chairman Peter Rolton said he was confident that ongoing negotiations with backers would come good, in the next three weeks.
The firm was reported to be on the verge of administration earlier this week before it confirmed a short term funding injection - thought to be from an existing investor - that would stave off collapse for a matter of weeks. In a bid to cut costs, some of the start-up's 300 staff have agreed to a voluntary pay cut and its executive team has agreed a total pay cut for November.
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Britishvolt was rebuffed in a request to draw down £30m of the £100m Automotive Transformation Fund cash allocated to it in January. Speaking to Business Live, Mr Rolton said he was yet to meet Mr Shapps but had briefly met his predecessor Jacob Rees-Mogg.
On a visit to the Cambois site where Britishvolt hopes to build its 3,000 job gigafactory, Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he didn't think the Government was serious about the automotive sector and that the country "stands to lose out unless they get on the pitch".
Speaking to BBC's Today programme, Mr Shapps said: "On the second point about Britishvolt, or whomever wants to build gigafactories to produce those electric car batteries - an incredibly important project. The British Government has said we will stand behind £100m to deliver that. We've said there has to be certain milestone that the company has to reach, we can't simply give them money when they haven't reached those milestones.
"That's about protecting your and mine and the public's taxpayer money. That money is absolutely still available, it hasn't gone anywhere. We're waiting for those milestones and they'll be able to have the money."
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