A quite extra-ordinary release from DfT on Friday!
It began:
Strengthening Britain’s train-building industry
The creation of a new forum to strengthen the British rail industry
at home and abroad has been announced by ministers during a visit to the
site of Britain’s newest train factory.
The Rail Industry Supply Chain Forum was announced by both Secretary
of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin, and the Secretary of State
for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, when they visited the
site of Hitachi’s new £82 million manufacturing facility at Newton
Aycliffe, in County Durham, home of the new Intercity Express Trains.
It continued by outlining the following benefits of the new Rail Industry Supply Chain Forum as follows:
- providing the government with a better understanding of the capability of UK suppliers to inform our rail investment plans and identify where support or intervention is required
- building the capability of UK suppliers so that they are more likely to win work both here and abroad
- reducing the risk of UK suppliers facing “feast and famine” in their order books and providing early warning of potential problems to the industry
- improving how government and industry promote UK capability overseas
Ministers and Whitehall officials could do a whole heap more for 'UK suppliers' by telling our Japanese friends that if they don't open their domestic market to UK rail suppliers with immediate effect, then HMG will not hesitate to cancel the Ninky Nonk train.
Sadly, iDave's preference for 'chugging down sake' means you can be quite sure this won't happen.
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