Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what progress has been made on discussions with Airbus UK on avoiding large scale redundancies at Airbus plants throughout (a) the UK and (b) its supply chairs.

We have regular discussions with Airbus on a wide range of issues, including their announcement of plans to reduce their global workforce as a result of significantly reduced demand for aircraft due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aerospace companies are drawing upon the unprecedented package of Government support measures, including schemes to raise capital, flexibilities with tax bills, and financial support for employees. Aerospace is benefiting from over £6 billion of support; airlines and aerospace companies, including Airbus, have benefited from over £2 billion of support from the Bank of England Covid Corporate Financing Facility. These companies will also access over £500 million of research and development grants over the next three years. In addition, UK Export Finance expects to support £3.5 billion of support for aerospace exports over the next 18 months. We will continue to work closely with the aerospace industry to position it for a return to growth.

We appreciate this is a worrying time for those workers at Airbus UK whose jobs may be affected and we will do all we can to support them through the Department for Work and Pensions and Job Centre Plus in England, and in Wales through the services offered through the ReAct programme.