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 has taken to attract foreign direct investment from the Boeing Company.

We continue to work closely with the aerospace sector, particularly through the Aerospace Growth Partnership, on areas such as R&D, innovation, supply chain competitiveness, and skills to make the UK a leading, attractive environment for investment for the global industry. In the case of Boeing, we have been working closely with it, as part of the Long Term Partnering Initiative for UK Prosperity and Growth, launched in July 2016. Boeing continues to grow its UK footprint with currently over 2,200 direct employees. Boeing is investing over £88m in a new commercial hangar for maintenance, repair and overhaul services at Gatwick airport, which will create around 100 jobs directly and a similar number indirectly; Boeing is building its first civil aerospace manufacturing facility in Europe at Sheffield, with investment of around £40m; Boeing is co-investing in a £100M P-8 infrastructure facility at RAF Lossiemouth; and Boeing has invested in an expansion to its Flight Training Centre at Crawley to incorporate four new simulators – the company’s largest such facility outside the United States.