Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what number and proportion of UK jobs are in the (a) aerospace and (b) defence industry in each constituency as of 2 February 2024.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not held in the format requested.
However, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) does hold a regional breakdown of direct jobs supported in UK industry by MOD expenditure. In Financial Year (FY) 2021-22 MOD expenditure supported an estimated 209,000 direct and indirect jobs in UK industry. In that same period the breakdown of direct jobs supported by MOD expenditure in each region was:
Region | FY2021-22 |
UK Total | 130,000 |
East Midlands | 6,900 |
East of England | 6,200 |
London | 8,200 |
North East | 900 |
North West | 16,600 |
Northern Ireland | 600 |
Scotland | 12,200 |
South East | 29,100 |
South West | 37,400 |
Wales | 4,500 |
West Midlands | 5,000 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 2,500 |
The MOD regional expenditure with UK industry and commerce and supported employment report for FY2021-22 can be found here: MOD regional expenditure with UK industry and commerce and supported employment 2021/22 (revised August 2023) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking to support the introduction of zero-emission aircraft.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government published the Jet Zero Strategy in 2022 which sets out its approach to achieving net zero aviation by 2050. The Strategy considered the potential for zero emission flight alongside other measures.
The Government is investing a record £685 million over three years into R&D in the UK aerospace sector through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) programme. The Department announced in February £113 million of co-investment with industry in three Rolls-Royce led projects on hydrogen in aviation as well as funding towards Vertical Aerospace, who are developing a battery-electric aircraft in the South-West of England.
As part of the Jet Zero Council, the Department has also established a dedicated Delivery Group to convene activity across Government, industry and academia on the development of Zero Emission Flight.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he plans to take to help encourage the development and use of zero-emission aircraft.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The Government published the Jet Zero Strategy in 2022 which sets out it’s approach to achieving net zero aviation by 2050. The Strategy considered the potential for zero emission flight alongside other measures.
The Government is investing a record £685 million over three years into R&D in the UK Aerospace Sector through the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) Programme. As part of the programme, the Department announced in February £113 million of co-investment with industry in three Rolls Royce led projects on hydrogen in aviation, as well as funding towards Vertical Aerospace, who are developing a battery-electric aircraft in the South- West of England.
As part of the Jet Zero Council, the Department has established a dedicated Delivery Group to convene activity across Government, industry and academia on the development of Zero Emission Flight.
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 contribution to environmental sustainability of the aerospace industry in the South West of England.
Answered by Paul Scully
The South West of England is home to a large cluster of the UK’s leading aerospace businesses. Its contribution to environmental sustainability of the aerospace industry is therefore significant. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State recently launched a new Airbus wing technology centre (AIRTeC) as part of its Wing of Tomorrow programme. This centre and research undertaken by companies such as GKN and Rolls-Royce will keep the South West at the forefront of the global move towards cleaner aviation.
As part of my Rt. Hon. Friend the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, the Government is investing in future green aviation across the whole of the UK. in order to accelerate this work, we have created a Jet Zero Council which brings together stakeholders spanning airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers, fuel suppliers, academia, and environmental groups.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff are employed in the defence and aerospace industry by his Department's contractors and sub-contractors in the constituency of (a) Durham North West, (b) Stockton North, (c) Blackpool North, and Cleveleys, (d) Burnley, (e) Hyndburn, (f) Pendle, (g) Ashfield, (h) Derby South, (i) Lincoln, (j) Loughborough, (k) Sherwood, and (l) Coventry North West.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collate information on the defence and aerospace industry at a constituency level, or details concerning subcontractors.
The MOD estimates the number of direct jobs supported by MOD expenditure with industry and commerce at a UK national and regional level. Our latest data from the 2018-19 Financial Year is demonstrated below:
Nation and/or Region | Constituencies included | MOD Expenditure with industry and commerce in that nation and/or region (£ million) | Number of Jobs supported in that nation and/or region |
East Midlands | Ashfield; Derby South; Lincoln; Loughborough and Sherwood | 893 | 6,500 |
East of England | South East Cambridgeshire; Stevenage | 1,140 | 6,100 |
North East | Durham North West; Stockton North | 96 | 600 |
North West | Blackpool North, and Cleveleys; Burnley; Hyndburn; Pendle | 1,965 | 12,500 |
Scotland | Paisley and Renfrewshire North | 1,758 | 10,200 |
South East | Portsmouth North; Portsmouth South | 4,581 | 27,500 |
South West | Filton and Bradley Stoke | 5,184 | 32,500 |
Wales | Alyn and Deeside; Islwyn; Torfaen; Vale of Glamorgan; Wrexham | 1,086 | 7,700 |
West Midlands | Coventry North West; Wolverhampton North East | 583 | 4,300 |
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many staff are employed in the defence and aerospace industry by his Department's contractors and sub-contractors in the constituency of (a) Wolverhampton North East, (b) South East Cambridgeshire, (c) Stevenage, (d) Portsmouth North, (e) Portsmouth South, (f) Filton and Bradley Stoke, (g) Alyn and Deeside, (h) Wrexham, (i) Torfaen, (j) Islwyn, (k) Vale of Glamorgan, and (l) Paisley and Renfrewshire North.
Answered by Jeremy Quin
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not collate information on the defence and aerospace industry at a constituency level, or details concerning subcontractors.
The MOD estimates the number of direct jobs supported by MOD expenditure with industry and commerce at a UK national and regional level. Our latest data from the 2018-19 Financial Year is demonstrated below:
Nation and/or Region | Constituencies included | MOD Expenditure with industry and commerce in that nation and/or region (£ million) | Number of Jobs supported in that nation and/or region |
East Midlands | Ashfield; Derby South; Lincoln; Loughborough and Sherwood | 893 | 6,500 |
East of England | South East Cambridgeshire; Stevenage | 1,140 | 6,100 |
North East | Durham North West; Stockton North | 96 | 600 |
North West | Blackpool North, and Cleveleys; Burnley; Hyndburn; Pendle | 1,965 | 12,500 |
Scotland | Paisley and Renfrewshire North | 1,758 | 10,200 |
South East | Portsmouth North; Portsmouth South | 4,581 | 27,500 |
South West | Filton and Bradley Stoke | 5,184 | 32,500 |
Wales | Alyn and Deeside; Islwyn; Torfaen; Vale of Glamorgan; Wrexham | 1,086 | 7,700 |
West Midlands | Coventry North West; Wolverhampton North East | 583 | 4,300 |
Asked by: Douglas Chapman (Scottish National Party - Dunfermline and West Fife)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many people are employed in the aerospace industry in (a) each English Region, (b) Wales, (c) Northern Ireland and (d) Scotland.
Answered by Lord Harrington of Watford
BEIS estimates (based on 2017 ONS data) that there are currently 123,000 people employed in the UK aerospace industry. This cannot be broken down by region. On the same basis, there were 121,000 jobs in 2016. The ONS Business Registers and Employment Survey for 2016 (the latest year that data is available) does provide rounded estimates of regional employment - however owing to less complete coverage, this source reports a lower employment total of 114,000 in 2016. The breakdown of this, covering each English region, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is set out in the table below:
Employment in the Manufacture, maintenance and repair of Aircraft
Region/Country | Employment 2016 | % |
North East | 1,800 | 2% |
North West | 15,900 | 14% |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,500 | 1% |
East Midlands | 18,600 | 16% |
West Midlands | 6,900 | 6% |
East | 10,000 | 9% |
London | 1,800 | 2% |
South East | 11,500 | 10% |
South West | 22,500 | 20% |
Wales | 12,000 | 11% |
Scotland | 4,500 | 4% |
Northern Ireland | 7,000 | 6% |
England | 91,000 | 80% |
UK | 114,000 | 100% |
Asked by: Thangam Debbonaire (Labour - Bristol 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 contribution of the aerospace industry to economic growth in the (a) South West and (b) UK.
Answered by Jesse Norman
The aerospace sector has an annual turnover of around £30 billion, supporting 113,000 direct, high-skilled jobs across the UK, 22,400 of them in the South West. Average salary levels, at £38,600, are over 35% higher than the national average. Between 2009 and 2015, productivity growth has been six times more than the whole economy.
Asked by: Kevan Jones (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department is taking to sustain aerospace engineering capability and capacity in the South West region.
Answered by Anna Soubry
We work closely with aerospace companies and their representative organisations, in particular the West of England Aerospace Forum (WEAF), in the South West through the Aerospace Growth Partnership (AGP) to tackle barriers to growth, boost exports and grow high value jobs. As part of this work we are investing heavily in the sector to support the industry’s private investment in technology, competitiveness and productivity, manufacturing capability and skills.
The work of the AGP includes businesses of all sizes in the South West region including large players such as Airbus, Finmeccanica Helicopters, GE Aviation, GKN, Rolls-Royce, Safran Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, UTC Aerospace Systems, as well as their many medium and small sized suppliers, and other specialist aerospace businesses.