§ Mr. Sternasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what projects have been either partly or wholly financed by his Department since 1979 which have resulted in work being placed in Avon's aerospace factories; and what were the sums involved.
§ Mr. PattieThe civil aerospace project which currently is being partly financed through launch aid from my Department and which is contributing to the provision of work at British Aerospace's factories in Avon is the Airbus A320. In March 1984 my right hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry announced that up to £250 million of launch aid was to be provided for this project. Work on the A320 programme is not concentrated exclusively at British Aerospace's Filton factories hut is distributed among several of the company's sites in the United Kingdom. The Bristol factories of Rolls-Royce are predominantly engaged in military programmes and no significant civil work relating to projects partly financed by my Department is being undertaken there.
During the period since 1979 grants have been made by my Department towards a number of research projects carried out by aerospace companies in Avon.