Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with (a) other Cabinet colleagues, and (b) the UK space industry on ensuring world-leading space capabilities continue to be (i) developed in, (ii) manufactured in, and (iii) exported from the UK.

I will engage with industry on issues relating to the Defence and Security sector through forums such as the Defence Supplier Forum and with Cabinet colleagues, as required.

Officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy are working on a Space Sector Policy aimed at encouraging growth and enhancing resilience across the sector, while driving export opportunities and supporting levelling up. This work forms part of the implementation of the 2021 National Space Strategy. Officials are engaging closely with the sector as we deliver this work.

The Defence elements of this work will build on the Defence and Security Industrial Strategy and identify critical space capabilities that the UK must have the capacity to develop within the UK.