Plans to boost UK’s aerospace sector announced by government

The Aerospace Business Leaders forum looked at how the industry and government can address barriers to growth, boost exports and increase the number of high value jobs in the UK. Cable also used the meeting to announce a fund of up to £125million to help ensure the sector benefits from the massive growth anticipated for the global aerospace market in the next 20 years. He commented: "With around 100,000 people employed all around the country and contributing around £23billion a year to our economy, the aerospace sector is central to our plans to rebalance the economy. The global aerospace market is constantly changing and it is important that government works closely with our leading businesses to provide support and help the industry maintain its world leading position. "Our aerospace companies have a diverse supply chain of some 3,500 companies in total, most of which are SMEs. However the evidence is that the UK aerospace supply chain is losing work overseas. That's why we announced a fund of up to £125m to help reverse this trend." Action from previous meetings is already underway, said Cable, through the Aerospace Growth Partnership. Announced in July this year, the initiative is chaired jointly by Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, Mark Prisk, and Marcus Bryson, ceo of GKN. The partnership will see government and industry working together to address the issues that affect UK competitiveness in the sector. Its work will focus on ensuring that the UK remains an attractive location for aerospace companies to carry out work both on current and future generations of civil aircraft.