Letter from Lord Drayson, Minister for
Science and Innovation, to the Chairman of the Committee
At the request of the Committee, I am writing
to provide background on the Cabinet Office review into space
security.
The update to the National Security Strategy,
published in June 2009, outlined the increasingly important role
space plays in our lives, and how reliant we are on it. The Strategy
announced that the Cabinet Office would lead a review of the strategic
security of the UK's interests in space.
The review will start by examining the UK's
strategic approach to space and how it underpins our security
objectives. It will also provide analysis of our vulnerabilities,
the impact of them and ensure we have mitigations in place, in
both the civil and defence sectors. The review will provide recommendations
on how our strategic security space policy should be taken forward
and how Government should be structured to do so.
The analysis phase is underway, with work being
done to understand the dependencies of the military, critical
national infrastructure and other national security interests
on space assets and data, now and in ten years' time. This analysis
will be used to identify vulnerabilities, threats and opportunities
for the UK's current position. This initial phase is expected
to be complete in January 2010.
The Cabinet Office review is working closely
with the Innovation and Growth Team work, the Space Industries
Information Exchange (led by the Centre for the Protection of
National Infrastructure) and the Review of BNSC.
Lord Drayson
Minister for Science and Innovation
5 November 2009
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