(LD): My Lords, there is no point in having skills if we
give away industrial capacity. The Government will know very
well, because I have raised it several times, that there is deep
concern about the lack of Government commitment to maintain
Britain’s only standalone helicopter production facility in
Yeovil. I have asked the Government repeatedly, here and
elsewhere, to use the opportunity of the industrial strategy to
make it clear that they wish to see that preserved. Everything
else is mentioned here: Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Bombardier, Boeing,
BAE Systems, GE Aviation, GKM, Solihull, Loughborough—all points
north and east, but not a word about helicopters, or the
commitment that we now need. Does the Minister realise how much
disappointment, and indeed anger, there will be in the Yeovil
community for that? Will he give a commitment that in the
so-called refresher industrial defence policy that is about to be
published this very dangerous omission will be corrected?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department
for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Lord Prior of
Brampton) (Con): My Lords, I was not aware of the
omission to which the noble Lord has drawn my attention. I think
I am meeting someone from Yeovil in the helicopter business
tomorrow, as it happens. Certainly, we will be using procurement.
One area in which we have not been as clever as they have been in
America, for example, is using defence procurement and other
parts of government procurement to support competitive British
industries. I will investigate the omission to which he has drawn
my attention with regards to helicopter manufacture at Yeovil,
and will try to understand why that is the case.
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