Press Release - Department of Trade and Industry: The United
Kingdom's Civil Space Activities
16 March 2004
Sir John Bourn, head of the National Audit Office, reported
today that the Government’s investment in space, coordinated by the
British National Space Centre (BNSC) Partnership, has a number of
strengths, including lean, user-focused programmes built up from
wide consultation, many of which have produced important scientific
and commercial benefits. There is scope, however, to identify and
analyse further opportunities for productive investment in space,
continue to develop risk management of space programmes and
generate more information on the progress and impact of space
investment.
Government policy is to engage in space activities where they
are the most effective tools to deliver scientific and commercial
objectives, rather than considering the development of space
technology as an end in itself. Many nations have broader space
objectives and manage their space activities through a single space
agency housing policy, funding and implementation in one body. The
United Kingdom’s partnership differs but fits well with the policy
emphasis on the uses and users of space and is a cost-effective
means of securing the benefits of international co-operation on
space programmes.
The Partnership’s strategy for space communicates the
over-arching rationale for investment in space soundly, and sets
broad objectives for space investment. The strategy would benefit
from further analysis of the risks to achieving objectives and how
they could be managed, and of the opportunities available. It might
show more fully how the Partnership intends to exploit the
opportunities resulting from the greater European Union resources
that are likely to be applied to programmes aimed at the commercial
and public policy applications of space.
The Partnership is necessarily selective in the activities
funded. Choices are made after wide consultation. Two-thirds of the
budget is invested directly in European Space Agency (ESA)
activities, enabling access to programmes of a scale that would be
difficult to fund nationally. ESA, under its system of juste
retour, aims that each member state receives a return in
industrial contracts equal to the value of its contribution over
time. Following concern raised by a British company, BNSC found
that data used by ESA to manage the system has overstated the level
of contracts awarded to the United Kingdom by approximately £6.9
million over the last three years. Although the return, which is
cumulative, is being corrected, there is a modest risk that these
errors might have restricted the ability of firms to win new
business from ESA. The value of any business lost is likely to be
recovered in future years.
The Partnership also run national programmes aimed at
positioning the scientific and industrial communities to take
maximum advantage from current and future ESA programmes,
scientific exploitation, and covering gaps in ESA activities in
areas of particular interest or benefit to the United Kingdom.
Because of the impact of factors external to the programme, such as
currency movements and other Departmental priorities, the DTI
national programme has been reduced by 62 per cent since 2001-02 to
£8.4 million. More generally, firms we surveyed valued the support
and advice they received from BNSC Headquarters, although small
firms were less likely to be aware of the services available.
DTI’s appraisal of space investment proposals under its national
programme followed established guidance. Our examination
highlighted weaknesses in option appraisal and the treatment of
risks and assessment of benefits. Better performance in these areas
is desirable if high risk but high benefit projects like Beagle 2
are to be fairly appraised and tightly managed in the future. In
the case of Beagle 2, sensible approaches were adopted for
identifying and mitigating technical risks, but the appraisal of
applications for public funding did not identify the residual risks
of the project. Beagle 2 was a high risk, high reward project.
Although it did not achieve its principal goal it has produced a
number of benefits for the United Kingdom space industry and
scientific community.
Monitoring of progress reduces as the focus shifts from
individual missions or projects through programme areas up to the
Partnership. For example, a lack of data constrains the
Partnership’s ability to monitor progress against important
objectives such as the use of space to improve productivity. There
have been a limited number of systematic evaluations of space
activities and associated scientific and industrial impacts, as
opposed to reviews of management arrangements. The Partnership is
committed to securing better information on outcomes.
Sir John Bourn said today:
"There are many strengths to the United Kingdom’s space
activities not least of which is a history of delivering lean, user
focused programmes. The Partnership should better identify how it
intends to benefit from the increased activity undertaken by the
European Union in space, minimise project risk by early involvement
in implementation, and better measure the benefits that space
investment brings to the United Kingdom."
Notes for Editors
- The BNSC Partnership was formed in 1985. Members include;
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC), Natural
Environment Research Council (NERC), Office of Science and
Technology, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Meteorological
Office, Ministry of Defence, Department for Transport, Department
for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, Council for the Central
Laboratory of the Research Councils, and the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office.
- Planned expenditure for the Partnership in 2003/04 is £178.2
million.
- The European Space Agency (ESA) has fifteen member states and
was formed in 1975. The United Kingdom was a founding member.
- ESA had an annual budget of Euro 3,648 million (£2,293
million).
- The majority of Government expenditure (65 per cent) is
invested through ESA programmes. The remainder is allocated to
EUMETSAT (13 per cent) and domestic programmes (22 per cent).
- EUMETSAT is an inter-governmental organisation providing and
operating the European systems of meteorological satellites.
- The United Kingdom has benefited from ESA contracts to the
value of £272 million for the period 1 January 2000 to 30 June
2003. Contracts are weighted to take account of the quality of
scientific content. Over the same period the United Kingdom’s
weighted contracts amounted to £207 million.
- The national programmes studies are a series of activities
funded by DTI Space, PPARC and NERC.
- The budgets for the national programmes are DTI Space (£7
million), PPARC (£18 million) and NERC (£11.1 million).
- Press notices and reports are available from the date of
publication on the NAO website, which is now at www.nao.org.uk.
Hard copies can be obtained from The Stationery Office on 0845 702
3474.
- The Comptroller and Auditor General, Sir John Bourn, is the
head of the National Audit Office which employs some 800 staff. He
and the NAO are totally independent of Government. He certifies the
accounts of all Government departments and a wide range of other
public sector bodies; and he has statutory authority to report to
Parliament on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which
departments and other bodies have used their resources.
Press Notice 21/04
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