PM gives no assurances on St Athan

John Smith MP meets the PM to discuss the defence training academy at St Athan reports Barry and District News on the 26^th Jan on the same day as The Times reports that PFI schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds for roads, waste plants, hospitals and defence projects are now under threat because the banks are reluctant to lend money.

The future of major PFI projects, such as the Defence Training Review in which QinetiQ has a major stake, is uncertain while credit markets are frozen say the Investors Chronicle

The National Audit Office (NAO) is considering opening an investigation into the QinetiQ-led project, which is the largest PFI in British history.

MP Mark Pritchard said that the DTR is "a privatisation too far". He said a key driver of rising costs - which went from GBP11 billion to GBP12 billion - and increasing delays was the need to build an infrastructure, including transport links, at RAF St Athan in Wales, which is where the project is bas

John Smith MP has failed to get any assurances from Gordon Brown or the Government that the £12billion and rising Defence Technical Academy at St Athan will be able to proceed.

Vale MP meets the PM 12:40pm Monday 26th January 2009

VALE of Glamorgan MP, John Smith, discussed the strategic importance of the multi-billion pound Defence to the UK economy with the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, when they recently met in 10 Downing Street. Following their meeting John Smith said: “The Prime Minister recognised that this project is of national importance. "It will equip our armed forces with the best training in the world, greatly expand our skills base, create thousands of jobs and will in future years achieve significant savings for the British taxpayer.” http://www.barryanddistrictnews.co.uk/news/latestnews/4067236.Vale_MP_meets_the_PM/20412

MP supports St Athan jobs Jan 27 2009 by Lisa Jones, South Wales Echo

VALE of Glamorgan MP John Smith has been seeking assurances from the Government about the future of aircraft repair jobs. Mr Smith was speaking at the inquiry into the Defence Support Group (DSG) and the progress made since the amalgamation of the Army Base Repair Organisation (ABRO) and the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (DARA) in April 2008.

The chief executive of DSG, Archie Hughes, told the committee that work for St Athan was being actively sought for beyond 2014, when its maintenance of the VC10 aircraft is due to end.

Mr Smith, a member of the committee, said: “The workers at the St Athan site have some of the most highly prized set of technical skills in the aerospace engineering world. “I have no doubt whatsoever that the arrival of the Defence Technical Academy at St Athan can only work in favour of DSG St Athan winning new aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul work.”

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2009/01/27/mp-supports-st-athan-jobs-91466-22785475/

FTSE 350: Aerospace & Defence
Investors Chronicle, UK - 19 Jan 2009 The annual round of defence spending in the US and the UK will be a focus of anxiety for UK-listed companies over the next 12 months, as governments on both sides of the Atlantic grapple with growing budget deficits….

Efforts to close a yawning £2bn hole in the UK defence budget will dominate the year and this could see several projects either mothballed or delayed. The Ministry of Defence has already put back the delivery date of its new aircraft carriers by two years, and the future of major PFI projects, such as the Defence Training Review in which QinetiQ has a major stake, is uncertain while credit markets are frozen.

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http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/MarketsAndSectors/Sectors/article/20090119/0bc86472-dbef-11dd-bd75-00144f2af8e8/FTSE-350-Aerospace--Defence.jsp

Labour forced to call for help as building programme stalls
Times Online, UK - 25 Jan 2009
PFI schemes worth hundreds of millions of pounds for roads, waste plants, hospitals and defence projects are now under threat because the banks are ...

UK's Defence Training Review is nearing collapse, warns MP
Jane's, UK - 31 Dec 2008
By Gerrard Cowan The UK's GBP12 billion (USD18 billion) Defence Training Review (DTR) is on the verge of collapse due to a "triple whammy of rising costs, ...