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UK Space Policy

The amount of intelligence and skill that we have put up in the skies to be able best to monitor some of the natural disasters that happen all over the globe is not generally known about. I hope that the Minister will address the point about DEFRA and the minimal UK contribution to GMES, because the UK needs to make its position known at the ESA ministerial meeting in December and needs to be a lead country in space. The fact that DEFRA plans to put in less than £2 million a year for the next two years is a disaster. That is part of a UK contribution totalling less than £3 million a year. If we were talking in billions or could add a couple of noughts to those figures, we could, and would, be looked at as a major player. Although £2 million or £3 million is still a lot of money to me—I still have not made my first million—in the run of things it is paying lip service to something that needs better investment. Other hon. Members want to speak, so I will curtail my comments. Next month the Government face a decision. The question is not: ““Are we in space or are we not in space?”” It is far simpler than that. The question is whether we really want a high-tech, highly skilled economy and whether we really care about climate change and natural disasters. If the answer is yes, we need to sustain our support for ARTES and to play a leading role in GMES. Anything less would simply pay lip service to our vision not only of a better Britain, but a better world. In my early teens, as an apprentice at Bristol Siddeley Engines, I developed a keen interest in space. In the early 1960s, we manufactured launchers. We have not manufactured many since, unfortunately, but the UK and its industries have since played a major role in harnessing for the betterment of mankind the advances in communication and observation that I have spoken about. We must not allow the position that we now enjoy to be lost. I look forward to hearing from the Minister the assurances that I and the industry require and which are so crucial.