To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent steps he has taken to support the launch of rockets and satellites from the UK.

The Department for Transport has established the regulatory framework that enabled the first launch into space from the UK. The Department has licensed the UK’s first ever spaceport, Spaceport Cornwall, and the first orbital satellite launch from the UK, operated by Virgin Orbit. The launch on 9 January, though it did not reach its target orbit, demonstrated that our licensing regime and approach to public safety works well.