Oral Answers to Questions

Ian C. Lucas Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2017 Commons Chamber

[Greg Clark]

North Swindon has a stellar Member of Parliament, too. The space sector is one of our most important industries, and the Spaceflight Bill, in particular, will move us forwards and enable us to be in the business not only of manufacturing satellites but of launching them, which will give us further industrial opportunities from which not only Swindon but the whole UK can benefit.

[Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab)]

The collaborative approach of the UK aerospace sector is one of the lessons that the Government need to remember in the difficult years ahead. Will the Secretary of State please come to one of the most important aerospace sectors in the country in north-east Wales to see its excellent work and the potential threats to one of the most successful industries in our country?

[Greg Clark]

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right. One of the reasons why the space and satellite sector has been so successful is the collaboration between the firms, the Government and the research institutions, which is the way forward. The Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, my hon. Friend the Member for Hereford and South Herefordshire (Jesse Norman), will visit north Wales and the facilities that the hon. Member for Wrexham (Ian C. Lucas) mentions, and I look forward to hearing all about it.