22:35 Sarah Jones (Labour)

As Members will be well aware, Northern Ireland has a long and impressive history in the aerospace industry. This Government are in lockstep with the sector’s ambitions to grow, compete on the world stage, and ease the transition to net zero flight. Today, the aerospace sector supports nearly 240,000 jobs, with almost half of those employees directly employed by aerospace companies. Some 5,000 of them are in Northern Ireland. The sector as a whole is worth some £30 billion. Despite all the achievements, we recognise that the past years have been challenging for the sector, with the chaos and uncertainty of the previous Government, and the global shocks of covid, the war in Ukraine and the disruption in the Red sea. We know that the impact of those issues persists.

In summary, the UK has a vibrant and hugely pioneering aerospace sector. It is a central cog in our manufacturing economy and will play a hugely important global role in decarbonisation and net zero, nurturing some of the highest-skilled jobs and most advanced technologies in the world. UK aerospace companies and their supply chains will be at the heart of our transformative industrial strategy, and I know the Northern Ireland aerospace sector will play a pivotal role in the success of the UK sector as a whole, and in the growth and success of UK manufacturing and industry.

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