§ 1. Mr. AtkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his discussions with the German Defence Minister on the workshare and purchase of Eurofighter. [12026]
§ The Minister of State for Defence Procurement (Mr. James Arbuthnot)I met my counterpart, State Secretary SchŐnbohm, on 18 January of this year. I welcomed the announcement by the German Defence Minister of his country's intention to increase its commitment from 140 aircraft to 180, which has largely resolved the question of workshare in the production phase of the Eurofighter project and is excellent news for British industry.
§ Mr. AtkinsI and my Lancashire Conservative colleagues thank my hon. Friend for responding to our lobbying on behalf of our constituents and for holding firm in the negotiations over workshare with his German counterpart. Can he confirm that the decision will mean many extra billions of pounds'-worth of work for my constituents and those of other hon. Members and that the production investment phase will move forward as rapidly as possible?
§ Mr. ArbuthnotI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his comments. I pay tribute to him and our right hon. and hon. Friends from the area for the vigour with which they support an industry that is important not only to their constituencies but to the country. I can confirm what my right hon. Friend says. The agreement that we have reached means that the production phase of Eurofighter will bring to the United Kingdom between 37 and 38 per cent. of the workshare—an increase of 4 per cent. over the development phase. That means that some £9 billion-worth of work will go to United Kingdom industry.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellThe Minister will know that what he just said will be welcome on both sides of the House. Does he agree that Eurofighter is a significant example of the European co-operation on defence procurement that was recently endorsed by the Trade and Industry Committee and the Defence Committee joint report? Does he further agree that if the European 120 industrial defence base is to be maintained and the United Kingdom and others are not to become the compliant customers of the United States, common procurement in Europe will be essential?
§ Mr. ArbuthnotIt is an extremely valuable example of the way in which collaboration can work. I am delighted that the project is going ahead and that Eurofighter is now back on track to become the cornerstone of the Royal Air Force's capability into the next century. It is necessary for us to have collaborative links both with European partners and with the United States, where we have many industrial ties and where we can gain many benefits from collaboration.
§ Mr. ColvinEurofighter is a most important defence industrial project but, last Thursday, in the debate on the Royal Navy, my hon. Friend referred to the review being carried out by his Department into our defence industrial base and announced his response to the Select Committees' joint report referred to by the hon. and learned Member for Fife, North-East (Mr. Campbell). Was that response his definitive statement following the completion of his review, or can we expect another document?
§ Mr. ArbuthnotMy hon. Friend is right to refer to that response. We found the Select Committees' joint report extremely constructive. We have given a continuing response that shows the closeness of our ties with British industry. We continue to discuss these important matters with British industry and with the National Defence Industries Council. A sub-group is working on precisely the industrial base questions that my hon. Friend raised.