Business, Innovation and Skills written question – answered at on 13 November 2012.
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment his Department has made of the future of the aviation manufacturing base Filton Airfield.
Following BAE Systems’ decision to close Filton airfield, the Department reviewed the impact with other manufacturers. They have confirmed that the closure will not have a material impact on their business operations given the availability of Bristol airport and good road links. They have also confirmed that the loss of the airfield will not affect their manufacturing commitment to either Filton or the UK. Our overall assessment is that we do not believe the airfield's closure will have any material negative impact on aviation manufacturing in Filton.
Yes1 person thinks so
No6 people think not
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Annotations
K Barad
Posted on 20 Nov 2012 6:12 am (Report this annotation)
I extend the answer: the assessments presented have not been validated, and are directly contradicted by other public statements of the manufacturers and assessments at other airfields.
Here is an Airbus statement to the Welsh Assembly which clearly highlights the criticality of Airfields to their manufacturing and connectivity plans. :
http://www.senedd.assemblywales.org/documents/s6027/Consulta...
To highlight a single key phrase (to save you from an interesting read):
"Any uncertainty regarding the long term deliverability of its products would be an unnecessary detractor when Airbus takes future investment decisions."
Given this statement from the manufacturer, the overall assessment that the closure will not negatively impact the current and future investments in Filton should be reassessed, as these two statements are mutually exclusive, and some 10,000 jobs, along with millions each year of research investment, training of young people to do skilled jobs, and the economic activity this causes are all being put at risk on the grounds of an incomplete assessment.