LORDS AMENDMENT (Hansard, 16 November 1976)

§ Lord WINTERBOTTOM

My Lords, I beg to move that this House doth agree with the Commons in their Amendment No. 5 to the Lords Amendment No. 4. Your Lordships' Amendments would add space activities to the activities which British Aerospace is under a duty to carry on under Clause 2(1). The 1123 Amendment to the Amendment extends the duty only to space vehicles. This is to make it clear that there is no intention of altering the present arrangements which cover the space industry. This consists of two firms which will come within British Aerospace—the British Aircraft Corporation and Hawker Siddeley Dynamics—and a number of electronics firms in the private sector, Plessey and Redifon being among them. They operate in the context of a close relationship with Government and with European institutions. To impose a positive duty on the Corporation to operate in the field of space systems could upset this delicate balance, which reflects technological capabilities in particular areas of space activities. This could compel British Aerospace to enter areas, for example, on the systems and payload side where it has limited current capability, where it would be competing with other British firms to the possible detriment of their employment, and from an inferior technological starting-point. This was the case I argued at an earlier stage of the Bill.

But time has passed, and it was largely because of fears of upsetting this delicate balance that the Government did not originally agree to include space among the duties of British Aerospace. Now that the Government are satisfied that the amended Amendment will not in any way affect existing arrangements, we are glad to add this important high-technology activity to the duties of British Aerospace. I therefore urge noble Lords to accept the amended Amendment.