asked the Secretary of State for Industry which are the versions of the RB211 engine produced by Rolls-Royce to which he referred, Official Report, 10th July, column 1099, as being either derated 25 tonne engines or normally rated 20 tonnes engines and suitable for the B10 derivative of the airbus.

The engines meeting the description quoted by the hon. Member are the RB211–524 B and the RB211–22D respectively. I understand that Airbus Industrie intend that the B10 should normally be powered by derated 25-tonne engines. It would be necessary to incur significant expenditure on the development of the engine and associated components before the RB211 could be made available as an engine option on the Airbus family of aircraft.