(Derby South, Labour)
called attention to the enormous impact the announcement by
Rolls-Royce would have on Derby and the East Midlands. She asked
what more the government could do to ease the situation and
questioned the closeness of the government’s relationship with the
company.
Rt Hon MP, The Secretary of State for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Tunbridge Wells,
Conservative) emphasised RR’s expansion, adding that the skills
of those being made redundant were valuable and those staff would
be much in demand. The government had a close relationship with
RR which was at the heart of the industrial strategy.
Rt Hon Dame MP (Chesham and Amersham,
Conservative) pointed out that the restructuring programme
announced in January was necessary to enable RR to remain one of
the world’s leading technology companies. Mr Clark said it was
correct that a successful company had to be efficient.
(Derby North, Labour) drew
attention to the reduction in the RR workforce over the years. He
called for legislation to ensure there were workers on boards of
companies to represent the interests of the workforce.
(Redditch, Conservative)
said GKN workers in her constituency wanted to know what the
government was doing through the industrial strategy to support
and encourage the skills of young people in engineering. Mr Clark
said the government was investing in research and development and
in training and retraining.
(Sheffield, Brightside and
Hillsborough, Labour) asked what discussions the government had
had with RR to ensure previous commitments were honoured to make
sure there would be no compulsory redundancies. What impact
assessment had been made on the impact on the local community of
the loss of jobs? What action would the government take to make
sure vital skills were not lost? What assessment had been made of
the knock-on effect on jobs in the supply chain?
Mr Clark said RR would abide by its obligations regarding
statutory notice of redundancy and was working closely with the
trade unions. Regarding a possible impact on skills, he pointed
out that most job losses would be at a management level and in
support staff. The government would be working closely with the
local enterprise partnership to make sure existing opportunities
were available.
(South Basildon and East
Thurrock, Conservative), envoy for the Year of Engineering, asked
about the impact on apprentices. Mr Clark said RR was firmly
committed to apprenticeships. He would emphasise the importance
of continuity in that regard.
(Kilmarnock and Loudoun,
Scottish National Party) asked about the impact of jobs in
Scotland. He said it seemed counter-intuitive that RR said it was
expanding the business but downsizing the workforce. Mr Clark
said it was too early to know the distribution of proposed
redundancies across the country, but most would be in Derby. It
was not uncommon for companies be simplify their businesses by
becoming more efficient.
(Nuneaton, Conservative) was
heartened that RR was looking to expand its engineering workforce
and apprentices.
Replying to (Coventry South, Labour),
who worked at RR in 1971, Mr Clark repeated his upbeat message
about the future of engineering in the UK.
(Harrow East, Conservative)
asked what assistance could be given to RR and other companies
post-Brexit. pointed out that BAe Systems
was also making redundancies and wondered what protection there
was for the Hawk. Mr Clark said that depended on export orders.
(Corby, Conservative) asked
about the role of RR within Midlands manufacturing.
Replying to (East Lothian, Labour)
about the reported moving of jobs to Europe, Mr Clark said Warren
East had been clear that today’s announcement had nothing to do
with Brexit. Likewise, he told (Edinburgh South, Labour) it was
vital that British companies must be in a position to trade
successfully after the UK leaves the EU.
Mr Clark agreed with (Kettering,
Conservative) that the LEP should have necessary resources to
place those made redundant into new employment.
(Glasgow North East, Labour
(Co-op)) called for a State investment bank to support industry.
(Paisley and Renfrewshire
North, Scottish National Party) asked what was being done to
ensure no further jobs were lost.
