Britain’s space industry would receive a jobs and investment boost if a cap on liabilities for companies launching spacecraft is approved by Parliament, according to an MP.
Labour’s John Grady said current legislation is acting as a “deterrent” to investors, and a legal cap would protect companies from costs if an accident or damage to property occurred.
The MP for Glasgow East’s Space Industry (Indemnities) Bill, which seeks to put a liability cap on a “firm footing” by amending 2018 legislation, is scheduled to be considered at second reading on Friday.
John Grady, Labour MP for Glasgow East (Laurie Noble/PA)
Former lawyer Mr Grady told the PA news agency: “Investors like to know how much they’re in for, unlimited liabilities are a concern.”
He added: “If you look at the journey of the space industry over the last few years, at one point we couldn’t launch our own stuff, but now for instance we’ve got a spaceport up north in Scotland, in Shetland, which will hopefully have its first launch soon, and of course we’ve had launches in Cornwall as well.”
The MP continued: “There’s a huge number of jobs, trades that can be generated by the space industry. So it can create employment. It’s also important in terms of just being able to have our own industrial clusters.”
Mr Grady described the space industry as an “industry of the future”, before going on to say: “At the minute, although Government policy is that we cap the liability for people who operate and send spacecrafts up, it’s not got 100% firm footing.
“And the issue with that is it’s a deterrent for people to invest in space, and the space industry in the United Kingdom.
“So it’s been a fairly longstanding discussion over the last few years for the need to make sure that the Act on the face of it has the ability to cap liability for space operators.”
The liability cap will be specified in licences, which are granted to the space operator by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
“It is anorak, but it’s important,” Mr Grady said.