UK aerospace industry receives £2 billion investment
Government and industry pledge long-term partnership to support the domestic aerospace sector.
The aerospace industrial strategy sets out how the sector will continue to grow in the face of increasing global competition and to exploit rapid changes in technology.
The £2 billion funding announced on 18 March 2013 will be provided by government and the aerospace industry over a seven year period and help secure around 115,000 jobs.
The funding will also create a UK Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI), allowing industry and academic researchers to develop the next generation of quieter, more energy efficient aircraft.
As part of the Industrial Strategy government will also put £500 million towards other sectors such as the automobile industry and agriculture technology.
Why is UK Aerospace so important?
The aerospace industry contributes billions of pounds to the UK economy every year:
To ensure the UK aerospace industry remains second only to the United States, the strategy focuses on investment in four key areas:
- wings
- engines
- aero-structures
- advanced systems
Commitment to a long-term industrial strategy
The industrial strategy is about planning for the future, presenting a long-term, whole of government approach to supporting British business, giving them the confidence they need to invest, hire staff and grow.
We are developing long-term strategies in partnership with industry in eleven key sectors including nuclear, education and the information economy. These will be published in the coming months.
The aerospace strategy announcement was made alongside the publication of the government response to Lord Heseltine’s growth plan ‘No Stone Unturned’. The government accepts the majority of Lord Heseltine’s 89 recommendations across areas of public policy that affect economic growth, including the creation of a new Single Local Growth Fund from 2015. Read in full about the government’s response.