§ Mr. ChopeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry for what reasons me Government have increased to £6,500 the prescribed fee payable on an application for a licence under its Outer Space Act 1986. [55971]
§ Mr. Battle[holding answer 22 October 1998]: The Outer Space Act fee was originally set at £1,000 per licence application in 1989 and has remained at that level until now. The complexity and frequency of licence applications have increased since 1989 and the fee has been increased to reflect the cost to the Government of processing each application. Companies which are regularly involved in activities regulated by the Act were consulted and I am confident that their competitive position will not be affected by this increase. The fees do not apply to educational institutions carrying out activities for teaching or research purposes.