Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the ability of the Aerospace Growth Partnership to help companies in the UK aerospace supply chain to bring products to market (a) faster and (b) more efficiently; and if he will make a statement.

The Aerospace Growth Partnership is helping companies to bring products to market faster and more efficiently through a range of action and support initiatives. These include the £2billion joint funding from industry and Government, supported by the Aerospace Technology Institute, for research into new product technology and manufacturing processes. Over £400m of projects have already been announced.

In addition, the £40m National Aerospace Technology Exploitation Programme (NATEP) is supporting small and medium sized businesses, through high calibre technical and management resource, to help them accelerate technology efficiently and bring products to market faster. NATEP is already supporting 68 companies.

We are also investing £120m, jointly with industry, in the Sharing in Growth initiative. This is an intensive intervention aimed at ensuring that UK supply chain companies build and maintain world class levels of competitiveness.