§ Mr. ChidgeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment she has made of the impact on competitiveness of British aerospace subcontractors of bidding for elements of the A380 Airbus project against European suppliers whose non-recoverable up-front costs are supported by their Governments' development assistance; [10814]
(2) what information she has collated on which of the countries engaged in the A380 Airbus project have divided Government financial assistance for project development between the prime contractor and subcontractors in the supply chain; and what the proportion is in each case; [10816]
(3) what assessment she has made of the impact on the British aerospace industry of the decision (a) to provide assistance in connection with the development of the A380 Airbus project to the prime contractor Airbus Industries UK and (b) not to provide assistance to both the prime contractor and subcontractors in the supply chain. [10815]
§ Mr. WilsonThe Government will provide £530 million of Launch Investment to Airbus UK for the Airbus A380 super jumbo project. The project will create and safeguard jobs in both Airbus UK and the supply chain. As in the case of our agreement with Airbus UK, details of agreements between other governments and their industries are commercially confidential.
The support provided to the prime contractor such as Airbus UK benefits the whole of the supply chain by securing strategically important projects for the UK. This has been the experience of past Launch Investment contracts.
The DTI continues to sponsor a programme of activities, operated by the Society of British Aerospace Companies, aimed at improving the competitiveness of the UK aerospace industry. This has had a beneficial effect on the industry as a whole and has contributed to the UK supply chain being in a strong position to compete globally.