Square Kilometre Array Observatory (Immunities and Privileges) Order 2020

Lord Fox Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2020 Grand Committee

[Lord Fox (LD) [V]]

My Lords, it is a great honour to follow the noble Lord, Lord Rees, the one person in the Room who is qualified to tell us about this project. We welcome this statutory instrument, and I have to say that it is a slightly easier one than the previous instrument brought forward by the Minister to redefine the metre. However, thanks to his good work, at least we now have an exact measurement for the area covered by the dishes.

I am a little worried about BEIS letting itself loose on dark energy, given that it has still not mastered a plan for nuclear power, but hopefully we shall be safe. I am excited by the possibility of this powerful telescope. It may not reveal the location of any significant new trade deals to replace our relationship with the European Union, but it will contribute massively to our understanding of the origins of the universe, as the noble Lord, Lord Rees, has set out so elegantly.

It is in that latter regard that this project is of huge importance. The fact that the HQ is in the UK should be a source of immense pride, as the Minister set out. It is symbolic of the research reputation which has been built up in this country, particularly in this field, and the quality of our science, both historically and currently. We should be proud that Jodrell Bank was chosen to be the HQ and we should congratulate everyone who helped to make that happen. I am sure that the noble Lord, Lord Rees, was being overly modest when he discounted himself in that regard.

This SI does not mention funding and that is not its purpose. However, I am glad that the Minister did bring that issue in. These are troubled times and this is an opportunity for the Minister to reassure the people who are connected with the project that the Government remain committed. In spite of the obvious economic problems created by Covid and in spite of the future economic problems that will emerge at the end of the transition period, the Minister mentioned £85 million, so I assume that he is confirming that that money will continue to go the SKA. Can he confirm that that is the contribution the Government are making to take us through the completion of phase 1? This is a 50-year project and even I would not expect the Minister to commit funds for the next 50 years. I assume that the money mentioned by the Minister will take us to the end of phase 1, which I think is due to complete in 2023; that is within the remit of this Parliament.

There is some more international red tape. As the Minister said, the Netherlands and South Africa have ratified, and as I understand it, the process we are going through here will mean that the United Kingdom will have ratified. That leaves Australia which has yet to ratify. When do the Government expect Australia to ratify its involvement?

The Explanatory Notes say that this instrument is unlikely to be controversial, and I agree, along with the noble Lord, Lord Rees. However, the notes also say that the treaty is unlikely to attract media attention. They say:

“Little public or media interest is envisaged”.


Why on earth not? I ask the Minister to spark some imagination into his Government and his department. This is science that will explore the universe. As the noble Lord, Lord Rees, mentioned, alongside the European Southern Observatory, it is one of only two intergovernmental organisations that I am aware of which are doing this sort of thing. This is the kind of science that lights the fire in people. It gets them enthusiastic about science, technology, engineering and even about mathematics. The SKA understands this. On its website are some lovely fun things for children and even for grown-ups to do.

This is science that will explore the universe, so ratifying the treaty is an opportunity. BEIS, the Department for Education and other government departments should plan a campaign around this project that will encourage the future technologists of this country. Can the Minister please promise to spark his department into some life? Far from dismissing this as a media non-event, he and his colleagues should be shouting about it from the rooftops. That we are leading it is a great success. It is a fantastic project that will shed light on to so many different things. It is typical of big science in that it inspires ideas and will deliver umpteen practical benefits. It is a truly international effort to boost science and it will affect the whole world’s understanding of itself.

Of course, it means that people from many different countries must come together. In this regard, can the Minister tell the House how many non-UK scientists are expected to be based in the UK HQ? Perhaps, without sounding too cheap, how will they and their families be affected by the new Immigration Rules being brought in by Her Majesty’s Government? Does this statutory instrument, which establishes immunities and privileges that the Minister started to set out, include the immigration of individuals and their families? If so, I would welcome that.

We on these Benches support this statutory instrument. It will help to deliver a great project and, more than that, in today’s febrile atmosphere of nationalism and border closures, it is a splendid internationalist project; it is a beacon. It is the opposite of what is being discussed today in the other place. Rather than planning on how the UK might break international law, this legislation enables the country to honour its obligations. In this respect, too, it has full Liberal Democrat support.