Written question asked by Bill Tynan (Labour) on Thursday, 15 January 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 February 2004. It was answered by Patricia Hewitt (Labour) on Monday, 2 February 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, whether debt accrued by the Beagle 2 programme will be met from existing departmental budget allocations for space programmes and research.

Answer: Mr. Tynan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether debt accrued by the Beagle 2 programme will be met from existing departmental budget allocations for space programmes and research. [148976] Ms Hewitt: The Beagle 2 Mars lander was funded by a combination of public and private sector contributions. All funding provided by my Department, directly or by the Particle Physics and Astronomy Council, has been paid as grants. In certain circumstances, some elements of those grants were repayable. Those circumstances have not arisen to date. The Department has no outstanding commitments to the project.

Secondary information