Don’t starve successful sectors, aerospace & defence industry tells Treasury in advance of Budget, A|D|S
Release Date: 2009-04-08
The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) has today (Tuesday) published its submission to Her Majesty's Treasury in advance of the 2009 Budget, to be announced by the Chancellor Alistair Darling on April 22. The submission is on behalf of the £20bn a year UK aerospace, defence and security sector.
Ian Godden, SBAC Chief Executive, said:
“Amid all the talk of bail-outs successful sectors can be ignored. Aerospace and defence is an unsung success story for the UK that will play a major role in keeping the economy going until the recovery comes. However, the danger is that existing funding for our industry could be siphoned off to help struggling sectors elsewhere.
“We believe that this would be a mistake. When the global upturn begins the UK and our industry in particular will need to be ready to benefit immediately. The only way that we can achieve this is for the Government to maintain support for aerospace and defence. One still needs to water a healthy plant if it is to continue to grow in the future.
“On Government priorities such as high-tech manufacturing, quality regional employment, skills, security and low carbon innovation, our sector is delivering for the UK. We are not calling for a bail-out but continued support from the Government will enable us to maintain our remarkable performance as well as contribute to the economic recovery for the long-term benefit of the country.”
On manufacturing and engineering Mr Godden said:
“The UK manufacturing and engineering successes that we represent are somewhat special and can play a crucial role in rebalancing the UK economy. Even pharmaceuticals with a 4 per cent world share does not have the enviable UK global market share of 14 per cent in civil aviation and 10 per cent in defence equipment. The motor industry, despite having double the number of employees, does not have the same level of high-skilled jobs and aerospace research and development intensity is second only to pharmaceuticals in the UK.
“Competition for our sectors remains strong and as other nations look to rebuild high-tech and secure industries such as ours will be attractive to them. Sustaining investment in early stage research and development is crucial to the ability of UK industry to compete for work on future programmes, such as the forecast US$1 trillion single aisle replacement, and to continue to encourage inward investment.”
On export credit support Mr Godden said:
“Our members are grateful to the Government for the support that the Export Credit Guarantees Department has been providing to our sector particularly in recent months. We will continue to work with the Government to address the liquidity challenges which the civil aviation sector is facing.”
The major points in the SBAC's submission are to request:
an increase in investment in early stage research and a substantial increase in the budget of the Technology Strategy Board as the main source of funding for early stage research and development in the UK. At present it is facing enormous pressure on its investment budget. To be able to deliver the new innovations necessary to help our economy grow and thrive, there is a strong case for this increase in investment.
the development of a national security budget to quantify and coordinate expenditure across Government departments.
a reverse in the long-term decline in investment in the Ministry of Defence's research and technology budget to flow directly into high-tech jobs in the defence industry to deliver the best possible equipment for Britain's armed forces.
an increase of £100m in aerospace collaborative R&D budgets to deliver future low carbon technology solutions.
targeted investment in science, technology, engineering and maths education to improve the adult population's skills levels to enable the UK aerospace & defence sector to maintain its world-leading position for the long-term.
| Type: | NORMAL |
| Company: | A|D|S |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Url: | http://www.sbac.co.uk/community/cms/content/preview/news_item_view.asp?i=19451&t=0 |