Call to bring Red Arrows work to RAF Valley to ease jobs threat

MS suggests compromise as retirement of Hawk TMk1 fleet puts 70 jobs at risk

RED Arrows work should come to RAF Valley to help save Anglesey jobs, says a North Wales member of the Senedd.

Carolyn Thomas, MS for North Wales, wants the UK government to hand the Red Arrows maintenance and “stripping for spares” contract to the island’s airbase.

It comes as jobs are under threat due to plans to retire the Hawk TMk1 fleet next spring. It is understood up to 70 roles could be affected on Anglesey by this move.

The Hawk T2 is now used for fast jet fighter training and has replaced the T1 at RAF Valley over recent years.

The only part of the Hawk TMk1 fleet not retiring are the jets used by the Red Arrows – prompting the call to bring elements of the work to RAF Valley.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said no decision had yet been reached on the location for future maintenance support for these planes but added it was fully committed to RAF Valley.

On a visit to Anglesey, Carolyn Thomas MS met with representatives from Unite Wales as well as Nia Griffith MP, the shadow secretary of Wales, to discuss the threats posed to jobs at RAF Valley. Forty-five jobs have recently been lost at the facility via a previous redundancy exercise.

Mrs Thomas said: “The threat of further redundancies hanging over the workforce at RAF Valley needs to be withdrawn.

“This is a highly skilled workforce with over 35 years of experience and a record of delivery.

“The base has already suffered a significant loss of skilled work recently and the prospect of a further loss of jobs would cause serious economic damage to North Wales.”

Union officials have previously voiced concern that RAF Valley is being overlooked for contracts in favour of RAF Leeming, which is based in the constituency of Rishi Sunak MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Mrs Thomas said: “The UK government has enough in the pipeline to spread the workload across bases and therefore invest in all of its highly skilled workforces.

“They must remove the threat of further redundancies by awarding the maintenance contracts to RAF Valley, guaranteeing a future for the base in North Wales.”

An MoD spokesperson said: “No decisions have been taken on the location for future maintenance support for RAFAT (Royal Air Force Acrobatic Team) Hawks and work relating to the disposal of aircraft, this will be announced in due course.

“However, we remain committed to a long-term and significant presence at RAF Valley.”

Negotiations have commenced with the industrial partners to reshape the Hawk support model around Hawk T2 and RAFAT.

They said these negotiations will include how RAFAT engineering support is best achieved and the opportunity to recycle spares from retiring airframes.