Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the emphasis on EU space programme co-operation in section 10.13 of the White Paper<i> The United Kingdom’s exit from and new partnership with the European Union</i>, what plans they have to ensure coherent space research collaboration with the European Space Agency and Russia after the UK withdraws from the EU; and why such co-operation has not been included in the Draft Spaceflight Bill.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is an international organisation, rather than an institution of the European Union. ESA programmes will continue to play an important role in delivering UK national space objectives and, in December 2016, the UK negotiated an investment of more than €1.4 billion over the next five years in ESA space initiatives. The UK will continue to collaborate with Russia through our subscription to ESA. The UK’s membership of the European Space Agency will not be affected by the UK leaving the EU and does not therefore require new legislative measures. The Draft Spaceflight Bill is intended to establish a national regulatory framework to enable launch from the UK.