Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that procurement for the SKYNET enduring capability supports high-skilled jobs in military satellite design.

The Skynet programme is currently running a competition to procure up to three Wideband Satellites that are to contain a specified set of technologies that must be UK designed and manufactured. This pass/fail condition will help to secure technological capital and develop the United Kingdom’s space workforce, promoting both the technologies and skills investment in the UK industrial base.

In addition, the social value requirements that feature in all Skynet procurements support our drive to bring new people into the UK space industry, by securing industrial sponsorships of educational schemes and through-life skills development. The MOD is working in close consultation with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology on a plan for the space industry that will be published in the coming months. This will increase growth and resilience for this vital part of the economy, generating a demand for additional high-end satellite design skills.