To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Statement of 12 February 2009, Official Report, columns 1531-3, how many of the 12,500 jobs he expects will be (a) existing jobs safeguarded and (b) new jobs created (i) in the train vehicle manufacturing industry and (ii) for third party suppliers to the industry; and on what assumptions these estimates are based. (261553)

[holding answer 6 March 2009]: Agility Trains anticipates that of the estimated 12,500 total jobs to be created or safeguarded, 2,500 will be directly employed by the Agility Trains consortium. Of these, 1,400 (estimate) jobs will be safeguarded in train maintenance, and 1,100 (estimate) jobs will be created in train and factory construction.

Of the remaining estimated 10,000 jobs Agility Trains anticipate that they are likely to be within train vehicle component suppliers, third party suppliers and the wider economy. Agility Trains advises that it has adopted an industry standard multiplier assumption, used with regard to the automotive industry, that each direct job will create, or secure, circa four jobs within the supply chain and the wider economy.