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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of his Department's procurement policy in supporting UK aerospace companies and the UK aerospace sector.

Although the Department does not procure from the aerospace sector, we provide strong support for the UK aerospace industry through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP). We believe this has been successful in supporting industry. Since 2010, the UK aerospace industry has seen turnover grow from £23.7billion to £32billion; exports have increased from £18billion to £30billion; direct jobs have grown from 110,000 to 120,000, with indirect jobs up from 148,000 to 161,000; and, between 2010 and 2016, productivity growth in the sector was over five times more than in the economy as a whole. In addition we have created a more certain environment to drive increased investment in R&D, through a £1.95billion Government commitment over 13 years to 2026, matched by industry, to fund new R&D projects.

But we are not complacent and will continue to work with industry through the AGP to retain the UK's position as a leading aerospace nation.