Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what progress the Government has made on ensuring that young people have the skills for entry into the space industry.
Answered by George Freeman
Ensuring that people of all ages can enter the UK space sector is a whole-of-government effort. This is recognized in the UK Science and Technology Framework (March 2023), which commits to expanding participation in all STEM careers. The UK Space Agency has a strong history of ensuring children are inspired and learning about space throughout their education and as they move into potential space careers. This has included educational projects following Tim Peake’s Principia mission, which reached over 1.6 million young people nationwide (Impact Assessment: Principia Campaign, 2018).
The Agency’s Space Placements in Industry (SPIN) Programme supports university students to undertake a space-related summer internship, with over 400 participants to date. The Programme will receive a three-fold increase in funding in 2024. In July, the Department for Education launched the new Level 6 Space Systems programme, which will enable apprentices to receive quality training in the industry while earning a salary.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the Scottish Roadmap for a Sustainable Space Industry; and what steps her Department is taking to promote sustainability in that sector.
Answered by George Freeman
The sustainability of the space environment is a priority. The 2022 Plan for Space Sustainability includes measures to improve responsibility across the sector, including regulatory and international leadership, and developing new industry-led standards. We fund important projects with the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs, one implementing the Long-Term Sustainability Guidelines of Outer Space Activities, and another project on Registration of Space Objects. We will consult shortly on applying variable liability limits for satellite operations to reflect mission sustainability.
The UK government will consider further the Scottish Space Sustainability Roadmap as thinking develops on how sustainability measures could be implemented.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps the Government is taking to ensure that Scotland and the UK build satellite capabilities to help support global leadership in that field.
Answered by George Freeman
As announced on 1 August 2023, the Government is working to establish the Connectivity in Low Earth Orbit (C-LEO) scheme, a potential £160 million R&D scheme to fund the next generation of satellite communications development and boost the UK’s leadership in the ever-growing global satellite market. The goal of the scheme would be to support suppliers across the UK in developing the technologies critical to the future of low Earth orbit satellite communications. These areas remain subject to change as the scheme develops but funding could go towards using AI to make data delivery faster, connecting satellites together for improved connection, and payload development.
The C-LEO programme is currently in development. Launch of the scheme and commitment of any funding would be subject to standard Government business case and other approvals.
Asked by: Philippa Whitford (Scottish National Party - Central Ayrshire)
Question to the Department for Science, Innovation & Technology:
To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what recent assessment she has made of the contribution of the space sector to (a) the economy and (b) upskilling the workforce.
Answered by George Freeman
The UK space sector is highly productive, employing almost 49,000 people. It is worth £17.5 billion in annual UK income with an average long-term growth rate of 6.4% since the turn of the millennium, outpacing growth of the wider UK economy (Size and Health of the UK Space Industry, 2022).
The recently announced Space Workforce Action Plan will build on findings of the Space Skills Survey to inform intervention by government, industry, and academia, in continuing to upskill the sector’s workforce. The UK Space Agency additionally plan to invest over £4m in the next two years, to enhance access to training for current and potential space sector workers. This supports the Department for Education’s ambition to produce 200,000 people with high quality technical skills by 2030.