The Government made a series of long-term commitments to developing UK leadership on AI, quantum, space and engineering biology through the Industrial Strategy and the AI Opportunities Action Plan.

We have established the £500m Sovereign AI Fund to support UK AI companies at key parts of the AI value chain. Focus areas will continuously evolve but could include compute, novel model architecture, AI for science and AI safety and assurance.

We recently announced the £1 billion commitment to procure a first-of-its-kind, large-scale quantum computer and announced on 4 March that DSIT will prioritise four space subsectors for development - Satellite Communications, Assured Access to Space, In Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing, and Space Domain Awareness.

We are investing £644m into supporting the ecosystem for Engineering Biology including R&D, infrastructure and regulatory reform, to realise the potential of engineering biology across multiple applications.

The 2023 Science and Technology Framework highlights the importance of a more diverse range of people entering science and technology roles.

The annual Size & Health of the UK Space Industry Report monitors gender in the workforce through an optional industrial survey, and government is exploring ways to expand beyond gender in future iterations. The UK Space Agency is also further developing monitoring and evaluation plans for its Inspiration Programme.

The Space Sector plan will be published in March 2024.

The Department for Science Innovation and Technology supports expenditure on space research as well as promoting the commercialisation of space research. The information is not available in the format requested as the Department’s spend cannot be accurately broken down into these two categories.

The UK Space Agency is the executive agency responsible for delivering the UK’s civil space programme. UKSA’s total budget, including earth observation, for the current spending review period is nearly two billion pounds.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) supports a diverse portfolio of research and innovation initiatives. Approximately £540m of the UKRI budget covered by the current spending review period includes research on space.

The Innovate UK Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN) is an active participant in Space Partnership working groups. The Space Partnership brings together industry, academia and government stakeholders to work together on priority issues, such as capabilities and skills, to realise the ambitions set out in the National Space Strategy and grow the UK space sector.

The UK Government is committed to the advancement of the peaceful use and exploration of outer space. The UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is the primary multilateral forum which sets the future of global space law and guidelines for the benefit of all humanity: for peace, security and development. The UK attends COPUOS and its subcommittees, playing a significant role to shape law and guidelines that are fit for the future, strengthening relationships with Member Nations and showcasing UK thought leadership in space sustainability. We also work closely with the UN Office of Outer Space Affairs and fund projects to support the peaceful uses of space, including the implementation of the Long-term Sustainability (LTS) Guidelines: publishing them in all six official UN languages and capacity building tools for emerging space nations. We and our experts in the UK Space Agency continue to work in these forums to improve the LTS guidelines and add to the range of guidance available.

The Government is delivering on its commitment to build a whole-UK space ecosystem by working with businesses, academia and Devolved Administrations.

The UK Space Agency has supported each nation to establish Space Clusters to grow their local space sectors, and works collaboratively with local partners to deliver its major funding programmes and events. This includes the government’s Spaceflight programme, and hosting roadshows, workshops, and the regional ESA Business Support Ambassadors.

This year UKSA has funded over £10 million through the Space Clusters Infrastructure Fund to companies in Wales and Scotland, and over £1 million to strengthen the Northern Ireland Space Cluster.

Reducing skills shortages for science and technology-based sectors, such as space, is a priority across Government, as set out in the 2023 Science and Technology Framework.

The 2021 National Space Strategy commits to ‘upskilling and inspiring the space workforce’. In September 2023, DSIT and the UK Space Agency published the findings of the 2023 Space Sector Skills Survey, which highlights that nearly 95% of the organisations surveyed experience skills-related challenges.

Government has committed to publishing a Space Workforce Action Plan in 2024, co-developed with industry and academia. The UK Space Agency will also invest over £4m in the next two years towards training to continue upskilling the sector’s workforce, as well as over £6m on inspiring the next generation of space scientists and engineers through educational and outreach activity.

The Department considers the national programmes of partner countries when developing policy and programmes in space as part of a range of evidence sources.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the Hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The UK space sector is one of the fastest growing areas of the UK economy and, as a world leader in satellite and secure software technology, the UK space industry creates high-skilled jobs across the UK.

As the recently published ‘Size and Health of the UK Space Industry’ report highlights, the UK space sector is worth an estimated £14.8 billion. It employs 41,900 people and contributes £5.7 billion to UK GDP. Income dependent on EU space programmes represents a relatively small proportion (2.5%) of the total income for the sector. As the UK’s withdraws from the European Union (EU), it is important that the UK continues to champion the sector, including supporting opportunities for exports and strengthening the UK’s active role in the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA is a non-EU intergovernmental organisation and is a world leader in the exploration of space.

The UK has the skills, expertise and commitment to deliver future National space programmes, including a possible UK GNSS, and this programme represents a significant opportunity for the UK in line with the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy. This will help to ensure important skills and knowledge are retained within the UK and that the UK’s successful space sector continues to thrive.

The Government’s intention is for the UK to continue to participate in EU space programmes when we leave the EU. However, the EU’s current offer for UK participation in Galileo does not meet our red lines. My rt. hon. Friend the Prime Minster therefore announced that we would not be using Galileo for Defence or Critical National Infrastructure.

As a responsible Government, we are actively mitigating possible risks related to a lack of participation in EU space programmes after we leave the EU. For instance, we are developing options for a UK Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).

As a world leader in satellite and secure software technology, the UK space industry is resilient and has the skills, expertise and commitment to deliver future UK space programmes.