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To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have
made of the impact of Brexit on the aerospace industry.
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for
Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Prior of
Brampton) (Con)
My Lords, we have engaged with the UK aerospace sector and
are aware of the potential issues that the UK’s exit from the
EU may have. Our aim is to keep the UK the leading aerospace
nation in Europe and we will continue our long-standing
support for the sector. That includes a matched co-funding of
some £3.9 billion for a research and development programme to
2026.
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(Lab)
Are the Government aware of the cross-border problems with
the supply chain in aerospace? I am concerned about the
European Aviation Safety Agency—where we play a key
role—which certifies the safety of aircraft products. That is
a profoundly important area. I am not sure—and this applies
to other agencies, too—how the Government plan to move that
forward in agencies, particularly where we play the lead role
and will no longer be able to do so after Brexit.
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My Lords, the EASA is indeed extremely important, as are
other European agencies. We will negotiate with those
agencies over the next two years to come to a sensible
arrangement.
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(Con)
My Lords, does the Minister agree that it is a shame that the
party opposite is so slow in catching up with its leadership?
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I wonder what leadership my noble friend is referring to. I
am sure that the party opposite is wholly united behind its
leader.
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(LD)
My Lords, as the Minister well knows, a defence strategy
refresher paper is to be published in the middle of the year.
Never mind Brexit; is he aware that if that paper fails, as
did the national strategy, to make a clear commitment on
behalf of the Government in favour of retaining and
preserving Britain’s capacity to design and manufacture its
own helicopters, as we have done for 70 years for the benefit
of our Armed Forces and our export markets, there is a real
danger that that capacity will be lost, together with
hundreds of jobs in Yeovil and elsewhere and a crucial part
of the national aerospace asset? Why can everybody else see
that danger but the Government seem blind to it?
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My Lords, I do not agree with the last part of the noble
Lord’s question. The capacity to manufacture helicopters in
the UK is extremely important and the MoD is very much
committed to doing that. As the noble Lord says, we will
publish a refresh strategy later in the year, which I am sure
will make that clear.
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(Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister confirm that the European
Aviation Safety Agency plays a crucial role in excluding from
European airspace and European airports any aircraft that
originates from countries or companies that have poor safety
records? By that means it safeguards the security and
well-being of people right across this continent. Because of
the importance of that, will the Minister give me an
undertaking now that, whatever the other outcomes of Brexit,
we will retain full participation in the European Aviation
Safety Agency?
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My Lords, I can confirm that safety is absolutely paramount.
How that is achieved between the workings of the CAA and the
EASA will have to be resolved over the next two years.
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(CB)
My Lords, another European agency of crucial importance to
safety, which the Minister will know about from his previous
role, is the EMA—the medicines evaluation agency currently
located in London. It is important not only for the NHS but
for the pharmaceutical industry. When the Minister is looking
at future co-operation and arrangements, will he ensure that
that agency and our relationships with it are also
safeguarded?
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My Lords, the relationship between the MHRA and the EMA,
similar to that between the CAA and the EASA, is absolutely
critical. The MHRA, from my memory, does 40% of the work of
the EMA—so the relationship between those two organisations
will indeed be very important.
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(Lab)
My Lords, as one of the largest contributors to the European
Investment Bank, what influence have we had over the money
that it has just given to the European Defence Fund, which
was set up in November, and the subsequent allocation by the
European Defence Agency for defence and aerospace procurement
all around Europe?
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The noble Lord raises such an interesting question that I
cannot actually answer him, so I will have to write to him
afterwards.
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(Lab)
My Lords, will the Minister explain why, in the case of the
air and the medical agencies that have just been discussed,
the Government are looking into how this can be integrated
with Brexit, but they have already made a decision to leave
Euratom without any debate at all? They are all the same kind
of safety regulators: what is the difference?
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My Lords, I think that the difference is that the Euratom
treaty was inextricably linked to the original European
Communities treaty. When we exercise Article 50, it will
automatically have an effect on the Euratom agreement,
whereas the other issues that we are looking at are
regulatory issues in which we have a much greater degree of
discretion about how we work together in the future.
