Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Broers (Crossbench). It was answered on Tuesday, 21 July 2009.

European Space Programme

Question: My Lords, most of the funding for our space research comes from the science budget within the research councils. Most countries do not do that. Most countries establish a space agency which seems to me appropriate as much of the fallout and application of space research is in the military and commercial sector. Does the Minister think that that would be a better route for us to take as well? I declare my interest as chairman of Diamond Light Source, which is funded from the science budget.

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord explains exactly the issue relating to the way in which we organise the investment in space. We have now launched a consultation to assess whether the current arrangements, whereby we have pooled funding from a number of different departments into the NSC, could be organised through an agency status to give better clarity and to strengthen our position in negotiation with international partners, such as within ESA.

Secondary information