Wolverhampton MP in plea to help save struggling aerospace firms
Ministers have been urged to speed up the awarding of aerospace contracts to help struggling firms recover from the pandemic.
Jane Stevenson MP said the aerospace sector had suffered "particularly badly" over the past year due to Covid reducing international travel to minimal levels.
She called on the Government to support West Midlands firms – including Collins Aerospace and Moog, both in Wolverhampton – by awarding new contracts "as quickly as possible".
Ministers say the defence industry has maintained "a steady drumbeat of orders" during the pandemic, while £24 billion worth of contracts are on the horizon.
Speaking in the Commons, Wolverhampton North East MP Ms Stevenson said: “So many industries have been hit hard by the pandemic, including aerospace and engineering companies in Wolverhampton North East.
"I am delighted to hear about more and more procurement contracts. What steps is the Government taking to start as many of those contracts as quickly as possible, so that we can really help our industrial economic recovery?"
Holistic
Defence Minister Jeremy Quin MP said: “Throughout the pandemic, we have made certain to maintain the drumbeat of existing orders so that they have continued.
"Through the interim payments scheme, we have helped to support defence companies with cash where that has been required.
“It is right that core defence decisions are taken on an holistic basis in the context of the integrated review.
"However, we have, where possible, advanced procurement in particular on improvements to the defence estate, where tens of millions of pounds of improvements are ongoing as we speak.”
Mr Quin added that small and medium sized firms now accounted for almost 20 per cent of all defence procurement expenditure. "With a £24 billion investment in defence to come forth, there is plenty for them to go at," he said.
Recent orders include enhancements for F-35 combat aircrafts, and the next generation of munitions, which supports jobs in Glascoed, Tyne and Wear, and Stoke-on-Trent.
Collins Aerospace, which is has two bases in Wolverhampton, announced 255 redundancies last year. Bosses said the decison was down to "significantly reduced demand for commercial aviation products due to the impact of Covid-19".
