Alex Ballinger

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow East (John Grady) on introducing this important debate. The two-word change might be the most consequential change ever made in Parliament. I am pleased to support the Bill. Today marks the commencement of British Science Week, a celebration of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This year’s theme, “Change and adapt”, is particularly fitting—it feels almost as if the stars have aligned—because we are debating the space industry today, which is built on technology, engineering and mathematics. The Bill perfectly aligns with the theme of British Science Week, as it seeks to implement small but significant changes to adapt the space industry in the UK and make it fit for the future. As many other Members have explained, the space sector is an incredibly valuable industry for the UK economy, and one that we should all take pride in. The UK has long been committed to boosting commercial industry, with over 1,500 space companies on our shores. The UK leads in start-up and scale-up investment, second globally only to the United States. That is a huge achievement and a real opportunity that we must continue to nurture. A consultation undertaken by the previous Government showed that operators holding unlimited liabilities often viewed that as a barrier to conducting spaceflight activities from the UK. The same consultation confirmed that other launching nations limit liabilities or provide a state guarantee for spaceflight activities conducted from their territory. This reality does not give investors a firm footing when looking towards the UK as a place to invest. If we are truly serious about fostering growth across the length and breadth of our country, the space sector must play an incredibly important role. The Bill ensures that companies and investors are confident about the UK as a space in which to invest. People in Halesowen may question what this means for them, as our small part of the west midlands does not have the largest space industry, but we all benefit from the services born of the space sector. Satellite technology, which I mentioned just now, is made possible by the space industry and enables us to buy our morning coffees with contactless payments. Satellites assist with navigation and, importantly, many of them support our defence and national security, keeping us all safe. The Ministry of Defence has been a major player in this field for some time, investing £6.5 billion over the past decade, including £5 billion for satellite communications through Skynet, and £1.5 billion through the defence space portfolio. The defence space strategy sets out our focus on intelligence, surveillance and satellite communications. I know that colleagues from across the Chamber will welcome that approach, as do industry and allies alike. The additional £1.5 billion of investment through the defence space portfolio brings significant investment to space research and development, and the jobs, skills and expertise that go with it. Through that investment, we are ensuring not only that we meet the threats of the future, but that we help to build the capability, expertise, skills and jobs that will serve defence and the wider civil space programme. Any efforts to expand on that are therefore wholly welcome. Investment in space is much more than that, however. I know that for many of the Members in the Chamber, particularly those of us with a keen interest in “Star Trek”, the prospect of sending rockets into the sky is an exciting one. At its core, investment in the space industry is about so much more: unlocking the economy and allowing significant economic growth.