Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA),St Athan

Last Thursday, the Ministry of Defence announced the transfer of work from the Defence Aviation Repair Agency facility at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan to Royal Air Force Marham in Norfolk. The announcement is the result of the end-to-end review undertaken by the MOD regarding the location of future logistical support activity for air platforms. I cannot overstate our disappointment at the MOD’s decision.
The review recommended that the repair and maintenance of aircraft could best be rationalised by concentrating it at main operating bases. The MOD has concluded that concentrating support for the Tornado GR4 aircraft at RAF Marham would provide best value for money compared with the alternative of concentrating on the DARA site at St Athan. The First Minister and I believe that this is the wrong decision.
It is wrong for three key reasons. First, DARA was created in 1998 specifically because a civilian aerospace maintenance workforce was recognised as being substantially more cost effective than uniformed RAF personnel. Secondly, the decision runs counter to the overall programme of shifting public employment from the south and south-east of England to Wales, Scotland and the north of England. Thirdly, and most importantly, St Athan is a world-class facility due to the hard work of a highly skilled workforce that is a national asset recognised by commercial operators in the aerospace sector.
The First Minister has discussed this announcement with Adam Ingram, Minister of State for the Armed Forces, and has expressed our deep disappointment at the decision. The announcement will, of course, be subject to a formal consultation period with the trade unions. Once a final decision has been taken, detailed consultation on the implementation will follow. The transfer of work to RAF Marham means that 500 jobs would be lost at St Athan in 2005. However, sufficient defence work would remain at DARA St Athan to enable continued operations until 2008 to 2009.
I have every sympathy for the workers at St Athan and their families, who must feel badly let down and anxious for their futures. I have already spoken to senior trade union officials and will be visiting the site on Thursday to meet representatives of the workforce and management to discuss the way forward. I assure Members that the Welsh Assembly Government and its agencies stand ready to help those who are faced with redundancy as a result of this announcement. We recognise that there is now an urgent need to try to identify other opportunities for MOD work to be transferred to Wales in order for the MOD to deliver on its commitment to a secure future for St Athan. Having said that, I want to make it absolutely clear that the MOD’s announcement does not reduce the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitment to an aerospace centre of excellence at St Athan. The Ministry of Defence has invested £77 million and the Welsh Development Agency has invested £15 million in a substantial asset in the Vale of Glamorgan—that investment will not be wasted. Indeed, without that investment, we would be in a far worse position today, particularly in terms of attracting new commercial operations to the site.
We strongly believe that St Athan provides an extremely attractive proposition for employers seeking the best location for aerospace operations. I have instructed Team Wales, in particular the Welsh Development Agency, to redouble its efforts to attract new work to St Athan. We will need to attract a wider range of both civil and defence work to St Athan before today’s announcement takes effect.
We have a world-class workforce already in place, with the skills and commitment needed to make a success of that process. The aerospace sector is of huge importance, not only to the economy of South Wales, but to Wales and the UK as a whole. Wales has attracted around 10 per cent of the UK’s aerospace industry, and in the key and growing maintenance, repair and overhaul market, Wales is close to achieving a 40 per cent share of the UK market. We will do all that we can to ensure that we maintain and, if at all possible, increase this level of activity in Wales. Having secured the site for Wales, I am convinced that St Athan will play an important part.
In conclusion, I again extend my sympathy to all those affected at St Athan, and reiterate the Welsh Assembly Government’s commitment to continue with its plans to create an aerospace centre of excellence at St Athan, and secure a strong future for the aerospace sector in Wales.