Asked by: Louise Haigh (Labour - Sheffield, Heeley)
Question to the Northern Ireland Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has held with (a) industry representatives and (b) the Northern Ireland Executive on an aerospace industry taskforce to help safeguard jobs in Northern Ireland.
Answered by Robin Walker
I recently met with representatives of Unite union regarding the challenges currently faced by the aerospace sector in Northern Ireland, including staff retention and the range of Government support measures in place.
As well as the Job Retention Scheme, the UK Government is supporting the UK’s aerospace and aviation industries with over £8.5bn in grants, loans and export guarantees. £2.1bn has also been made available to the UK aerospace sector through the Covid Corporate Financing Facility, and UK Export Finance is supporting £3.5bn of sales in the next 18 months.
This sector will be key to Northern Ireland’s economic recovery and we want to do what we can to safeguard jobs and investment, working alongside the Northern Ireland Executive.
Asked by: Lord Berkeley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Civil Aviation Authority has the power to remove the costs of refurbishment of road tunnels at Heathrow Airport from the Regulated Asset Base of Heathrow Airport Limited.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Civil Aviation Authority, as an independent economic regulator, will consider the efficiency and reasonableness of all capital expenditure which is added to Heathrow Airport Ltd’s Regulated Asset Base. It can make ex-post decisions to remove expenditure which does not meet efficiency tests. The Civil Aviation Authority’s primary duty is to the consumer and its secondary duty is to ensure Heathrow Airport Ltd can finance its operation.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy of 21 July 2020, Official Report column 193, how the figure of £8.5bn financial support for the aviation and aerospace sector was calculated.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The aerospace sector and its aviation customers are being supported with over £8.5 billion worth of support through the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, grants for research and development (R&D), loan guarantees, and support for aerospace exports over the next 18 months.
The amount is made up of support across the Covid Credit Financing Facility (£2.7 billion), expected UK Export Finance support for aerospace and its aviation customers (£5.5 billion) and R&D support for aerospace (across 3 years over £500 million).
We will continue to back businesses strongly through the Covid-19 pandemic and as we return to growth.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the Government's financial support for the aviation sector.
Answered by Andrew Stephenson - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Department for Transport is in regular contact with HM Treasury regarding the challenges facing the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19. The sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry are able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures we have put in place during this time.
This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme which facilitates access to finance for businesses affected by the outbreak. HMRC is also ready to help all businesses and self-employed individuals, experiencing temporary financial difficulties due to coronavirus.?You can access their “Time to Pay” arrangements, which eases restrictions with tax bills and VAT deferrals.
The Government is also ensuring financial support for employees through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme covering 80% of furloughed employees’ usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, alongside the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions.
Asked by: Luke Evans (Conservative - Bosworth)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he will take to involve precision engineering companies in (a) Bosworth and (b) the UK in the post-covid-19 recovery of the UK’s aeronautical industry.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We regularly discuss post-Covid-19 recovery with aerospace companies across the UK, including through the Aerospace Growth Partnership.
The UK’s aerospace and aviation sectors are benefiting from over £8.5 billion from the Government’s Covid-19 business support measures, including the Coronavirus Corporate Financing Facility, support for research and development, supply chain performance improvement programmes, and export finance.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further (1) to the statement by the Airport Operators Association that airports may have lost at least £4 billion in revenue by the end of 2020, and (2) the job losses in the aviation sector, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, what steps they are taking to assist financially the aviation industry. [T]
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government recognises the challenging times facing the aviation sector as a result of COVID-19. The aviation sector is crucial to the UK’s economy and businesses across the industry will be able to draw on the unprecedented package of economic measures we have put in place during this time.
This includes a Bank of England scheme for firms to raise capital and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme which facilitates access to finance for businesses affected by the outbreak. Firms are also able to access ‘Time to Pay’ scheme which eases restrictions with tax bills and VAT deferrals.
The Government is also ensuring financial support for employees through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme covering 80% of furloughed employees’ usual monthly wage costs, up to £2,500 a month, alongside the associated Employer National Insurance contributions and pension contributions.
The Department is in close contact with the aviation sector ensuring that the Government is kept fully aware of the latest developments with all firms and to understand where additional policy measures may be useful and to address specific industry issues.
The Department has established a Restart and Recovery Unit for aviation. The unit will immediately focus on restart, in particular:
Examining new standards on health and wellbeing across the customer journey;
Measures needed to sustain and boost the sector;
Ensuring new standards are established at an international level; and
Engagement with the sector to ensure the proposals developed are fit for purpose.
The unit will also focus on establishing a clear vision and objectives for the sector looking forward to the recovery phase. We are working closely with the aviation sector to support it to ensure there is sufficient capacity to protect global travel routes, continue repatriation, freight and maintain vital connectivity.
Asked by: Margaret Greenwood (Labour - Wirral West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the effect of the 1,400 job losses at the Airbus site in Flintshire, North Wales, on the local economy in Wirral.?
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The proposed job losses by Airbus in the UK are part of its planned 15,000 global job reductions due to the reduced demand for new aircraft, resulting from the global Covid-19 pandemic with airlines deferring and cancelling orders. This has required Airbus to lower production rates by around 40%. Recovery to pre-Covid-19 levels may take between three and five years.
We are working closely with Airbus to help it through the crisis and into recovery. We appreciate this is a worrying time for workers at Airbus who may be affected and will do all we can to support them through Job Centre Plus in England, and in Wales through the services offered by the ReAct programme.
Airbus and UK aerospace suppliers are benefiting from the Government’s £330 billion Covid-19 business support packages, including the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. Companies are also benefiting from our support for aviation and aerospace through UK Export Finance, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, and grants for research and development.
Asked by: Dan Jarvis (Labour - Barnsley Central)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to support the financial recovery of the UK aerospace sector after the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
The aerospace industry is benefiting from the Government’s £330 billion of Covid-19 support, which includes the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme. The aerospace and aviation sectors are also benefiting from support through UK Export Finance, the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Financing Facility, and grants for research and development. We remain in active discussion with aerospace businesses, including at sector level through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, to do all we can to help industry through the Covid-19 pandemic and back to growth.
Asked by: Gavin Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party - Belfast East)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, pursuant to the Answer of 22 June 2020 to Question 59788; if will provide a breakdown of the £6 billion figure referenced in the Answer.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
As stated previously, the Government is providing over £6 billion of support to the aviation and aerospace sectors. UK Export Finance expects to support £3.5 billion of aerospace exports over the next 18 months, up sharply from £1.15 billion over the past two financial years.
Under the Bank of England’s Covid Corporate Finance Facility, £2.16 billion of loans have been made to airlines and aerospace companies affected by a short-term funding squeeze.
We are also providing support over the next three years for research on the next generation of aerospace technologies, through £450 million of Aerospace Technology Institute programme funding, as well as £70 million through the Future Flight programme.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of supporting the scrappage of older civil aircraft; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Nadhim Zahawi
We recently received an industry proposal on a scrappage scheme for older civil large passenger aircraft and are assessing its potential impact on the UK aerospace and aviation industries.
UK airlines and aerospace manufacturers have already been boosted by £2.16 billion from the Covid Corporate Financing Facility. In addition, UK Export Finance expects to provide £3.5 billion of support for UK aerospace exports over the next 18 months. We also continue to invest heavily in technology to make our aviation sector greener and more sustainable, through our co-funded £3.9 billion Aerospace Technology Institute programme and £300 million Future Flight Challenge.