Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of manufacturing activity in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in each of the last four years; and what assessment he has made of future capacity in that sector.

The following table lists the contribution of manufacturing to employment and gross value added (GVA) for the West Midlands and England and to employment for Coventry. Estimates of GVA are not collected in sufficient detail to report on manufacturing in Coventry. GVA figures for 2012 by region are not yet available. Data on future capacity are not available from official sources, but the Foresight report into the future of manufacturing, published in October 2013, concluded that manufacturing is set to enter a dynamic new phase, driven by rapid changes in technology, new ways of doing business, global competition and potential volatility around the price and availability of resources. It makes recommendations for government and industry to ensure that the UK manufacturing sector is able to compete and thrive in this new world.

Source: Regional National Accounts and Business Registers Employment Survey (both ONS)