The National Audit Office is currently in the process of producing a value for money study on the UK space programme.
Our study will focus primarily on the DTI funded partners in the BNSC Partnership. These are BNSC headquarters, the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council (PPARC) and the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).
The main issue that the study will seek to examine is whether the BNSC Partnership is implementing the civil space strategy effectively to achieve its commercial, scientific and social objectives. The study will look in particular at the following:
* the effectiveness of the strategic oversight of the implementation of the space strategy
* whether the BNSC Partnership is effectively managing its contribution to the European Space Agency; and
* whether DTI, PPARC and NERC are managing and implementing their domestic space activities effectively.