Written question asked by Richard Page (Conservative) on Wednesday, 21 July 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 7 September 2004. It was answered by Patricia Hewitt (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 September 2004 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To 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. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mr. Page: To 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 Hewitt: The 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 è41.2 million (£29 million). At 31 December 1999 when the earlier set of ESA return statistics were terminated, UK over- return stood at è94.0 million (£66 million). The British 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.

Secondary information