Aerospace Industry

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon Excerpts

Monday 5th December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

Yes, my Lords.

[Baroness Royall of Blaisdon]

My Lords, when we talk about the aerospace industry, we tend to think of large companies such as BAE Systems, but the supply chain and SMEs are extremely important. Can the Minister give me an assurance that, when the Government are looking at things like defence cuts and cuts in the aviation industry, they will also consider what jobs may be lost in the supply chain?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, that is a very important point and is a key focus of the aerospace growth partnership which I referred to in my initial Answer. The work that it is undertaking is addressing how we can make the UK aerospace supply chain more competitive, for example through improving our manufacturing processes and capabilities, ensuring that companies can access finance, increasing their ability to share risk with higher-tier suppliers and improving supply chain relationship management.