§ Mr. PageTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much in pounds sterling she calculates has been under-returned to the UK over the last four years under the funding agreement with the European Space Agency. [186752]
§ Ms HewittThe European Space Agency (ESA) began a new set of return statistics on 1 January 2000. The cumulative UK under-return for the four years 1 January 2000 to 31 December 2003 was €41.2 million (£29 million). At 31 December 1999 when the earlier set of ESA return statistics were terminated, UK over-return stood at €94.0 million (£66 million). The Br#tish National Space Centre is working closely with ESA officials to ensure that the return requirements for the UK as set out in the ESA Convention are fully met.