BUSINESS secretary Kwasi Kwarteng labelled Warrington Borough Council’s £1.6 billion of debt as a ‘huge amount of money’ during his visit to the town today, Tuesday.

The secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy joined Warrington South MP Andy Carter on a visit to gin distiller 3 Pugs Gin at Penketh Business Park.

The Tory pair spoke to Christine and Stephen Ditchfield, who run the company, and enjoyed a drink.

Mr Kwarteng hailed the ‘terrific’ efforts of the business after impressive growth since it was launched in 2016.

He said: “I know it’s been difficult because of Covid but if you look around this space it’s a huge warehouse, it’s a great plant, two people, incredibly hard working and I think it’s fantastic that people can do this in Warrington.”

Warrington Guardian:

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Warrington South MP Andy Carter and Christine Ditchfield

The Labour-run council’s level of debt totals £1.6 billion – although Town Hall chiefs have emphasised this is backed by assets.

Mr Kwarteng shared his views on the amount of debt.

He said: “Yes, it sounds like a large amount of money.

“Obviously, I’m not going to get into the details because I’m not aware or sufficiently in the detail of the local picture but clearly it’s a huge amount of money to incur as a debt.”

The secretary of state said he can’t comment on the ‘very specific issue’ – related to a different department – of whether the Government will provide funding for a new hospital for the town.

But he said he thinks levelling up has been taken ‘very seriously’.

Warrington Guardian:

Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, Christine Ditchfield and Warrington South MP Andy Carter

He said: “I’ve spent time Crewe yesterday, Bolton today, I’ve been up here and I can see huge potential for investment, lots of talented hard working entrepreneurs and people, a great workforce, and we can really, I think with the right policies, make a great future for Warrington.”

The Conservative politician was also asked on what the Government’s preferred form of restrictions would be if Covid-19 cases and hospitalisations soar in the coming weeks and months – a full scale national lockdown or a tier system.

On the tier system, Mr Kwarteng said ‘we’re not going to do anything like that’ before expressing optimism about the economy and future growth.

He added: “I’m resolutely focused on the positive picture, I think we’re going to be able to deal with this Covid.

“We’re still in tricky times, but all the actual data is pointing in the right direction and obviously we’re monitoring it very closely.”

Mr Carter also shared his views on 3 Pugs Gin.

He said: “I think this is an incredible small business and actually Warrington is really fortunate we’ve got small businesses like this on business estates right across our town.

“I think the hard work that goes on here is paying off for Christine and Ste, as it is for many other businesses as well.

“My focus is supporting this business, supporting other businesses, so that they can really capitalise as we build back better and focus on growing our economy.”

On Monday, council chief executive Steven Broomhead labelled the authority’s investments as being diverse after concerns were raised over the level of debt.

He said: “All of what we’ve done, it’s all been done very carefully, it’s been done with a lot of due diligence, legal advice and with the full knowledge and engagement of our auditors.

“This year, the total amount of income coming into the council is £22 million, which we would not have had if we had not made the investments.

“If we hadn’t had that £22 million, where would those £22 million worth of savings have been made?”