Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill

Baroness Anelay of St Johns Excerpts

Friday 12th December 2025 Lords Chamber

Moved by

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns]

That the Bill do now pass.

[Baroness Anelay of St Johns (Con)]

My Lords, I congratulate John Grady MP, who introduced the Bill in the House of Commons, where he secured all-party support. I thank all those who supported the Bill in this House as it made its way through Second Reading. Every Member who participated at Second Reading supported the Bill.

I am also grateful to the Minister for responding in constructive detail both during the debate itself and subsequently in a letter to all Second Reading participants, in which he answered the detailed questions posed by my noble friend Lord Moylan, the opposition transport spokesman. The Minister’s hard-working experts, who may well be in the Box today, no doubt had an expert hand in that.

The Bill amends the Space Industry Act 2018 to provide legislative certainty that spaceflight operators will not face unlimited liability when operating from the UK. As a consequence, the Bill should strengthen investment in the UK’s space sector, which is important for both the economic growth and the defence of the United Kingdom. I beg to move.

[Viscount Stansgate (Lab)]

My Lords, I will not detain the House, because, as we all know, there is important business ahead. However, I congratulate and thank the noble Baroness, Lady Anelay, for her work on the Bill and for having brought it to the stage where it is poised on the brink of the statute book. As someone who, in the past, has piloted a Private Member’s Bill through to its final stages, I know very well that the Private Members’ Bill procedure can indeed change the law of this country.

The Bill literally changes one word, from “may” to “must”. As a member of your Lordships’ UK Engagement with Space Committee—I am not here to talk about our report, Act Now or Lose Out, interesting though it was—I believe that the Bill will unlock investment and a space economy for the future. The UK could be well placed to play an active part in that. I thank all those involved and wish this Bill very well in the future.