§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Minister for Information Technology was correctly reported in the 4th February issue of Aviation Week and Space 1008WA Technology on the subject of a British National Space Centre, and whether they will make a statement.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Lucas of Chilworth)The article to which the noble Lord refers arose from a press conference given by my honourable friend the Minister of State for Industry and Information Technology on 29th January at which he announced the Government's decision to establish a British National Space Centre. A copy of the relevant press notice has been placed in the Library of the House. The aim of the centre is to improve the development of space technology in the United Kingdom and to strengthen the co-ordination of space policy.
Detailed arrangements are being worked out and will be announced in due course. But it is likely that the technology centre will be located at RAE, Farnborough, where there is already a successful joint technology programme funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence.