§ Mr. Walter Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he can now give details of the further Government support for the RB211-524 aero-engine.
§ Mr. VarleyOn 20th June 1975, I announced that the Government agreed to support the application of the RB211-524 to the Boeing 747 at 50,000 lb. thrust. The Government's direct contribution under the contract amendment, which has now been signed, will be £8.3 million. This is in addition to the £26.3 million being provided for the development of the engine for the Lockheed TriStar. The new fixed amount represents half of Rolls-Royce (1971) Ltd.'s estimate of the cost of this new application, and part is subject to a cost escalation formula from the end of 1975 onwards. The Government will be prepared to make available on request up to a further £0.6 million for work in relation to certification of the engine in a variant of the Boeing 747.
As I also said on 20th June, we recognise that developments of the Boeing 747 may require further thrust development of the RB211-524. The Government have, therefore, agreed in principle that should such a programme be required they will contribute up to a further £12.3 million on similar terms to a programme of development up to 53,000 lb. thrust. As in the case of the development of the RB211-524 for TriStar, direct Government contributions are recoverable by a levy on engine sales.