Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the return on public investment in the UK Space Agency; and if he will make a statement.

The return on investment delivered by the UK Space Agency (UKSA) is subject to biennial assessment as part of the Agency survey of the size and health of the space industry. Results of the 2014 survey are due to be published in the autumn of 2014, though I hope to be in a position to announce headline figures such as turnover and employment numbers at the Farnborough Airshow in July 2014.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is the primary route for Government R&D space investment. Several economic analyses of investment impact have been undertaken, drawn together in BIS Economics Paper No3 . The Agency's biennial survey of the size and health of the UK space industry has shown growth from £3.4Bn turnover in 1999/2000 to £9.5Bn in 2011, reflecting the results of sustained investment as well as the growth of the market.

UKSA investment through the European Space Agency (ESA) in the last five years is as follows:

2009/10: £242.8m

2010/11: £231.1m

2011/12: £232.0m

2012/13: £207.6m

2013/14: £267.5m

In addition, national expenditure averaging £20M a year has been invested within the UK to build and operate scientific instruments carried on ESA spacecraft. The funding to ESA has been used to contribute to missions and technology in the fields of space science and exploration, Earth observation for science and applications, telecommunications and broadband delivery, access to microgravity facilities for life and physical sciences, space weather, navigation technologies, human spaceflight and weather monitoring. As well as resulting expenditure in the UK due to the juste retour principle, wider benefits have accrued in economic growth; new scientific knowledge and improved delivery of public services.