Business of the House

Patricia Ferguson Excerpts

Thursday 6th February 2025 Commons Chamber

[Lucy Powell]

Water customers in my hon. Friend’s constituency, and in many others, have been left to pay the price of many years of Conservative failure. The Conservatives allowed water companies to spend billions of pounds on bonuses and shareholder payouts, instead of investing in our crumbling infrastructure. I assure him that the money raised from increased water bills will go to water infrastructure.

[Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)]

Yesterday’s meeting of the Scottish Affairs Committee took some interesting and informative evidence from representatives of the space industry in the UK. The launch of the first commercial space rocket from SaxaVord spaceport in Shetland is likely to take place before the end of the year. The industry has potentially great commercial benefits for the UK and is very important to our integrity as a sovereign nation. One of the key asks of the representative we spoke to was that there should be a Minister for space, who could help them to navigate the various jurisdictions they have to speak to, cut through the number of local authorities and other authorities they have to deal with, and simply be a champion for their industry. Will my right hon. Friend raise those matters in Government?

[Lucy Powell]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right; space has transformed in strategic importance over the past decade. The Minister for Science, Research and Innovation has responsibility for co-ordinating space policy right across Government, and I know that he will be putting rocket boosters under this policy area in the future.