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

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 20 May (HL15847), what recent assessment they have made of (1) the impact of Honda's decision to close its Swindon plant in 2021, and (2) other recent announcements by car manufacturers on (a) the regional economy, (b) the national economy, (c) regional GDP, and (d) national GDP.

We have not made an assessment at this time. We have, however, set up the Honda Swindon Taskforce, chaired by my rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, which will look to support those affected and to continue Swindon’s record of attracting investment to create highly-skilled jobs that offer fulfilling careers for years to come.

Automotive manufacturing is a critical industry for the UK, contributing £16.6bn gross value added in 2018 (0.9% of the economy) and 165,000 jobs (0.5% of the UK Workforce).

Honda took the decision to close its Swindon plant in 2021 with the potential loss of 3,500 jobs. The automotive manufacturing sector was last estimated to account for around 0.8% of the economy of the South West Region and around 8,000 jobs (0.3% of its total employment). The Secretary of State has been working closely with local partners, Honda and the Trade Unions to fully understand and mitigate the impact of this decision on the workforce, the local area and the supply chain. The Honda Taskforce last met for a third time on 19 June.

We are doing everything to support businesses, their workforce and communities affected by the announcements. We continue the strive to attract investment, creating highly-skilled jobs that offer fulfilling careers for years to come.