§ Barbara FollettTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment her Department has made of the relationship between the(a) amount of funding provided by European Space Agency member states to the EGNOS project and (b) amount and quality of work won by contractors from each ESA member state; if this assessment will affect UK funding for the Galileo project; and if she will make a statement. [21679]
§ Ms HewittThe amount and quality of work won by contractors under ESA contracts is in direct proportion to the investment made by member states due to the application of juste-retour to all ESA contracts.
The UK took a 20 per cent. stake in the EGNOS programme to secure key elements of the infrastructure (i) to ensure that UK industry secured high technology contracts, and (ii) to maximise our influence in the eventual operation of the system. I believe that we have been successful in achieving both these objectives.
My Department is working closely with the Department for Transport, Local Government and the Regions and others within Whitehall to examine the economic case for providing further funding to the Galileo project, if it goes ahead.