 The final item of business today is a member's business debate on motion number 12526, in the name of John Scott, on Prestwick airport spaceport bid. This debate will be concluded without any questions being put, and I would be grateful if those members who wish to participate in the debate could press the request to speak buttons now. I call on John Scott to open the debate. Seven minutes are shown. May I begin by thanking colleagues from all parties for their support for my motion and for taking part in this debate today. Prestwick has since 1913 been at the forefront of pioneering flight when Moncton Meadows was first used for manned flight. In 1935, Hamilton and McIntyre created Scottish aviation at Prestwick, which is still the blueprint for the airport and the aerospace hub that surrounds Prestwick today. The 1950s and 1960s saw Prestwick pioneer transatlantic flight from the UK, and now today another Scottish and UK pioneering opportunity again exists at Prestwick airport just over 100 years after the first flight from Moncton Meadows. So what is the opportunity that the UK spaceport represents? No longer is the space the final frontier to borrow a phrase, but in our modern world it is the next frontier, and the development of the space industry is one that we must urgently grasp, and with both hands. Currently, the space, the UK space sector, has a turnover of £11.3 billion and employs 34,000 people. Mr Scott, could I start you for a moment? Could we have the back door closed? Please I'm afraid that there's noise drifting into the chamber. Many thanks. John Scott. Currently, the UK space sector has a turnover of £11.3 billion and employs 34,000 people. The target is to grow our UK space industry to a £40 billion turnover in the next 15 years and create 100,000 jobs in the process. The major barrier to this growth is the lack of a UK spaceport. So while America and Russia lead the way in this industry, we in the United Kingdom must create our own spaceport and do so soon to capture our share of the growing satellite launch and deployment market and position ourselves for space travel and space tourism in due course. So if we accept that we must develop a spaceport, the next question is where is it best suited to do so? I would suggest the location of choice in Scotland and indeed the United Kingdom is Prestwick Airport. Firstly, Prestwick Airport is already home to a diversified manufacturing aerospace industry and a maintenance and repair and overhaul hub. Over 3,000 jobs currently exist in our world class aerospace hub and its supply chain at Prestwick. Creating, building and maintaining pioneering and existing aircraft is part of our DNA at Prestwick and throughout Ayrshire. The twin pioneer and the jet stream 31 and 41 aircraft are perhaps the most iconic examples of that. Our local community has always welcomed innovation at our airport and in our aerospace industry and takes a particular pride in Prestwick's history and a keen and supportive interest in its future. Over 800 acres of land is available to and used by this already diversified airport with significant land available for future growth. First class road and rail links now exist, with motorway connections from Glasgow and Central Scotland now available to the front door of Prestwick Airport, as well as there now being direct rail links to the airport from Glasgow and Edinburgh. Prestwick already handles civil passengers, freight, UK and NATO military aircraft, as well as search and rescue from Gannett. In addition, Nats has one of its two UK centres less than a kilometre from the airport, employing over 700 dedicated professionals in the air traffic control industry. Prestwick is also ideally placed within the United Kingdom for high inclination polar launches with clear and uncluttered airspace all the way to the north pole. Of course. John Finnie. Thank you. I'm very grateful for the member accepting an intervention. Would the member accept that in that regard the last comment there about the airspace Prestwick isn't unique and indeed McRhanish would fit that criteria as well? John Scott. Yes, of course. I would accept that point. However, I also want to turn to other aspects that make Prestwick the location of choice. One of those is the weather conditions at Prestwick. Those again make Prestwick the location of choice in Scotland and indeed the United Kingdom, located as it is in the rain shadow of Arun. It will have crept into the consciousness of colleagues the launch delays at Cape Canaveral because of cloud cover over the last 40 years. However, Prestwick airport was located in its current position because of its lack of cloud cover, a fact that saved the lives of many American and British flyers during World War II. The unfortunate yet deliberately selected for geographical location is now also important to commercial space operations, with Prestwick having the least prevalence of cloud cover compared to compared to English and Welsh airports, according to available Met Office statistics. Prestwick's concrete runway is also of sufficient length to accommodate space flights, unlike the UK and Lanbury, both of which would require extensions to bring them up to a minimum standard. In the time available, those are some of the key reasons why Prestwick is not just the location of choice in Scotland but in the UK as a whole. What is needed now is for the Scottish Government to come to an early decision on which airport will be the preferred Scottish option and then throw its weight behind that choice. Make no mistake, the bids for Newquay and Cornwall and Lanbury and Wales to be the locations for spaceport are already being lobbied for extensively within the corridors of power at Westminster and indeed America, while our own bid team at Prestwick is only modusly resourced by South Ayrshire Council and Prestwick Airport itself. Prestwick could be described as a late entrant to this very competitive field, but with support its obvious attribute should make it a clear winner in the Scottish and UK bidding process. The strength and depth of the Prestwick bid team should also be noted, with widespread support coming from the aerospace sector, which is keen to develop and build on its internationally recognised skillset. Support has also been forthcoming from South Ayrshire Council, the University of the West of Scotland, Strathclyde University, the Ayrshire College and the Ayrshire Chamber of Commerce, but perhaps most importantly of all is the support of the local people of Prestwick Air and Trun for this pioneering project. Minister, your choice is yours and I urge you and the Scottish Government to select Prestwick Airport as Scotland's choice for spaceport and then support Prestwick Airport as the location of choice for spaceport in the United Kingdom. Many thanks. We now turn to the open debate. Speeches of around four minutes or so please. Adam Ingram to be followed by Margaret McGregor. Thank you very much, Presiding Officer. Firstly, can I congratulate John Scott on securing this evening's debate on a subject that both of us are happy to work together to promote? For the chamber's benefit, while the airport falls within John's constituency, the aerospace park lies within mine. In any case, the whole of Ayrshire is united in its desire to see the aerospace industry and the airport thrive and prosper after some difficult trading years post the 2008 crash. Forecasts for the sector as a whole over the next 15 years are extremely good, with the civil aerospace market set to double in size. Currently, the UK aerospace sector accounts for 17 per cent of global market share, second only to the USA. Prestwick is the largest cluster in Scotland, accounting for over 50 per cent of the Scottish aerospace workforce, contributing some £400 million to the local economy and supporting 3,200 jobs. The question is how to secure the future of Prestwick and take advantage of this growth. For me, winning the bid to become the UK's first operational spaceport will go a long way to achieving that objective. The UK Government is seeking to establish such a facility by 2018. It will become a launch station for next-generation satellites and space instruments using the modern generation of horizontal take-off space launch vehicles and a due course on operating base for manned flights using reusable spacecraft. Prestwick just has to be the preferred bidder from a Scottish perspective. There is an experience high-tech aerospace workforce in substantial aviation and engineering companies on-site. The Scottish Government has awarded the Aerospace Park Enterprise area status. Our universities in the west of Scotland are at the forefront of space and engineering research and technology. We have coupled that with the established physical infrastructure, including a three-kilometre runway, safe, over-water flight paths, clear airspace, an enviable weather record and well-developed transport connections to the rest of Scotland, and the case becomes incontrovertible. Surely it is a no-brainer that Prestwick maximises the value that can come to Scotland from space sector growth. That does not mean that other potential Scottish locations should be left out in the cold. Prestwick could operate Macrihanish as a diversionary location and for special test operations. Highlands and islands locations should be developed for ground station networks. A bid that incorporates those features would have every chance of success. Scotland would clearly be best placed for UK satellite launch and polar orbit deployments and ground stations for satellite data capture. I urge the minister to throw the Scottish Government's weight behind such a bid. I congratulate John Scott on securing this debate on Prestwick Airport's space boat bid. I must also apologise to the chamber in advance as I will have to leave before the end of the debate because I have another engagement. On February 26, Prestwick Airport was accepted as one of the preferred bidders for the UK space boat. The other airports that made the short list were Campbelltown and Stornoway, Newquay in Cornwall and Landware in Wales. Since then, I am pleased to say that the Prestwick team has been very busy in their endeavours to secure the bid for the only UK space boat. Prestwick is delighted to have commissioned RS and H, the premier US designer in the space boat industry, to prepare a logically and technically strong bid that meets the US licensing framework, and they feel that those consultants will be of great advantage and assistance to them. The Prestwick team are the only UK contenders to attend the US space foundation event recently, and that was hugely beneficial, informative and useful in making contacts within the space boat industry and helpful in their preparation of the bid. Prestwick Airport is critical to the North Ayrshire economy and not just North Ayrshire, of course, east and south as well. If it was chosen to be the UK space boat, it would be a huge game changer not only for Ayrshire but for all of Scotland. If it was accepted, Prestwick could be used as the take-off point for space tourism under proposals from Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic and XCOR space expeditions. However, turning Prestwick into the UK's first space sport would not just mean space tourism for the super rich, it would allow Ayrshire to capitalise on and play a key role in satellite launching and manufacturing, as well as in the space science sector, which is currently earning around £11.3 billion in revenues, a figure that grew by 7.2 per cent between 2011 and 2013, despite the recession. At this stage, the UK has no satellite launch facilities of its own, so that would be the first of its kind, opening up Prestwick to an untapped wealth of future potential. It would have a huge impact on the Scottish economy through promotion of skilled jobs, training facilities, opportunities for high-tech suppliers, services and the boost for tourism. Prestwick Airport is hands down the best site in the UK. It is well connected by both road and rail. Further more, if the Glasgow Crossrail was pursued, the airport would be connected by rail to the whole of Scotland, which no other Scottish airport would have. It also has excellent weather reliability, as we have heard already, and is the main diversion site if other airports have to be closed due to bad weather. Finally, the site offers an attractive long-main runway and a varied and established business environment and an engineering sector through the international aerospace park and enterprise zone, which would be easy to expand and build upon if the spaceport bed was accepted. To conclude, Presiding Officer, now that Prestwick is down to the final five, it appears to be in a strong position to become the site of the UK spaceport. Prestwick not only meets the criteria but surpasses it. It has the skills, the space, the transport links and, bizarrely, for Ayrshire, the good weather. I think that the best way forward is for there to be one bed from Scotland so that it is not competing against each other. I hope that airports can come to an agreement whereby a joint Scottish bed would be mutually beneficial to all involved and could present a combined offer with a range of strengths and benefits. I am eager to see this approach as a solution and hope that this can be developed into a winning bed. I will be campaigning vigorously from now until the announcement later this year to ensure that the first spaceport, due by 2018, is a Scottish one, based at Prestwick, because it has all the attributes that are required and I hope that the Scottish Government will back the bed. I am delighted that John Scott has brought forward this debate today. For me, on this issue, I have had a love affair with Prestwick since I was a European business manager with Digital and Air, where we flew regularly to sister companies—in fact, very regularly—by Bandarante to Shannon and by Lear to Geneva. It is a decline and therefore was a surprise when I returned 25 years later to Scotland and to Ayrshire. Any suggestion that it might close was anathema to me and I know to many others. I do not diminish the notion and the passion that accompanies the desire of other Scottish airports to become the UK's permanent spaceport. However, the Department of Transport consultation and the resultant questions on supporting commercial space plane operations in the UK leads and leaving parochialism aside leads to only one outcome. On that basis, as I said in a press release at the time of the DFT announcement, Prestwick, being one of the sites in the shortlist, would benefit from ultimate selection, but so would the UK Space Agency in general. Prestwick would, I believe, secure at least the expected 10 per cent of the global space economy, bringing a boost not just to Ayrshire and Scotland but to industry and economic growth and research and development but to the wider UK. The space economy already contributes, as John Scott said, £11.3 billion to the UK economy, supporting nearly 35,000 jobs. By 2018, we can see immense growth in deployment of, for example, variable-sized satellites via new launcher technology and, of course, trans-global suborbital flights. It would not be the first time that Prestwick has been the base associated with the saying that man has gone where no man has gone before. Founded by the Marcus of Clydesdale and DF Macintosh, it was the first to fly over Everest, for example, in 1933. We can, and we will wax lyrical about Prestwick. Two major concrete soft runways of 3,000m and 2,000m in length, a weather record, a microclimate singing to none where the fawn effect creates that warm microclimate with little rain and largely fog-free, not something available elsewhere in Scotland. Extensive maintenance repair operation capabilities, an aerospace campus at the University of West Scotland and in the colleges. Aerospace skills and passion in West Scotland has the largest community of space industry employees outside London and space programmes at Glasgow, Strathclyde and Dundee universities. All those are more such as the National Air Traffic Control Centre at Prestwick, but, above all, it is a resilience airport with high skills and military experience and is the UK's primary strategic and diversion airfield. I referred previously to the Department of Transport consultation regarding the feasibility of locations with regard to the spaceport. Let me just draw on two of the 11 questions. The question 2, which asked the locations, should still be active but at a low level of aircraft and AA movements, but should have an existing and appropriate ground infrastructure facilities and service provision. It should have a view that was expressed that the combination of several suborbital operations a day with modern aircraft traffic, commercial or freight traffic, military traffic and general aviation could, in fact, be well co-ordinated. In question 8, the Government responds that the safety of the uninvolved general public is paramount and that the CAA's strong recommendation for a coastal location for space plane operations is valid. Just two questions where Prestwick fulfills those criteria. For those and many other reasons, without, in any way, denigrating other propositions, I believe and support the view that Prestwick and those who are driving this, Stuart McIntan and his team, are doing a great job. Prestwick is it. For me, the love affair continues as does the belief and the dream that Prestwick's positive future is not just in the stars, but in getting there. I congratulate John Scott on securing this debate and I agree that Scotland should be the location of choice for the spaceport. I am not here to reign on Prestwick's parade or not completely, but I supported the purchase of Prestwick by the Scottish Government when I was a member of the Cabinet. Indeed, when I was growing up in Ayrshire in the 1960s in Trun, I used to go plane spotting at Prestwick Airport. I remember seeing the Danier Dakotas to the Isle of Man, a regular service that was operating where you watched the passengers troop on and then you realised that one of them must be the stewardess because she changed her hat just before she got into the plane. However, I do want to say that this debate would not be complete without seriously considering the merits of Macrohanich. Indeed, I want to say why I believe that Macrohanich and Campbellton are the places that should be boldly going into this race and should be ready to serve the final frontier. The criteria for this choice are very interesting indeed. There should be a minimum length of the runway of 3,000 metres. Macrohanich, of course, has a runway just over 3,000 metres, unfortunately Prestwick does not. Indeed, the parallel taxiway at Macrohanich is almost the same length as Prestwick's runway. There should be, of course, a coastal area. It is interesting to note that Campbellton has coast on three sides, not just on one side, and that would be an important criteria. In terms of population density, Kentar's population density is 0.13 persons compared to the Scottish average of 0.65. Campbellton is also served by a deep water port with three piers, one of which is a NATO pier. Indeed, in those modern port facilities there is also a rural facility, which is used to taking very large cargos. A point that has just been raised by Mr Brody is that there should be a limited amount of aviation traffic. I have to say regrettably that the aviation traffic at Campbellton is even more limited than the present aviation traffic at Prestwick, consisting that it does have two aircraft services a day. However, there is also a very substantial advantage that, of course, I am happy to give way to Mr McGregor. I thank the member for taking intervention. Would he also agree with me that Macrohanich is the only UK airport that has twice been approved for spaceflight? How very prescient, Mr McGregor, I was just coming to that point, which does feature in the Campbellton airport briefing. However, it has been approved twice for spaceflight, bunds by NASA and once by Virgin Galactic. It has an advantage over all the other contenders. It is also an important issue for the Scottish Government in terms of its enthusiasm for community ownership. It is a community-owned facility. It has 1,000 acres of opportunity. It has 50 companies already operating on the site, but there is no shortage of space. It has three jet fuel storage facilities and is capable of taking a very substantial fuel. If the fuel for these spaceflights were to be hydrogen, that could be produced from the renewable energy plants that exist on the Kin Tire peninsula. In every instance and criteria, there is an argument to be made for Campbellton that is every bit as good as the argument for a press week. I do not want to see this as one place against the other, although that is where we have come down to. I think that Mr Ingram's view that there might be a possibility of collaboration is a good one, and I would like to see that take place. However, the people of Campbellton are asking for and, indeed, demand that there should be a level playing field when the Scottish location is considered. In considering this matter, I have to say that it is fairly obvious that Campbellton has the longest and most level playing field of any of the Scottish contenders, and I do hope that the Government will continue to take it very seriously. John Scott? Would Mr Russell agree with me that notwithstanding his reasonable comments about McCree-Hannish, the two particularly distinguishing features that press week has as its attributes are the 3,000 people in the maintenance and repair and overhaul hub around the airport, as well as the accessibility, the motorway and the rail accessibility, as well as the port accessibility, which I would like to see trump McCree-Hannish. I think that there are good points to make, but I think that in terms of accessibility, Campbellton is accessible and could be even more accessible. Indeed, in terms of the jobs, I think that the potential for creating new jobs in the spaceport is very great. That is not simply about sustaining jobs. Indeed, we do not know how many of those jobs could be sustained. There are many different attributes that are required for the space industries that do not exist in the aviation industries, but the potential for creating new jobs on the community-owned site is substantial indeed. I do hope that the minister will look kindly upon what his friendly rivalry is and might have the potential for co-operation, but Campbellton deserves to be considered. The time is coming for Cape Campbellton. Many thanks. I now invite Dennis Mackay to respond to the debate. A challenge has been laid out to me today to make a choice between the two remaining bids in Scotland. I will resist, because the taste of a debate between John Scott and Michael Russell just shows that the strengths that the two remaining sites in Scotland have. Of course, it will not be the choice of the Scottish Government. That matter is reserved to the Westminster Government. Of course, extra terrestrial matters were reserved to the UK Government. No matter how good an election result the SNP might get on 7 May, I am still not sure that this decision will transfer to the Scottish Government. We will back both bids and be supportive of both locations. Between John Scott and Michael Russell was the middle way of Adam Ingram and Chick Brody, and Margaret MacDougall touched upon the strength of the press-wick bid. John Finnie's intervention was to point out the strength of the Campbelltown-Macrahanish location. I will resist backing one over the other. Part of the reason for that is that I am not sure that it would add any extra value, because the Scottish Government is clear that we want the spaceport to be located in Scotland, and we will do what we can to secure that, recognising the strengths and the opportunities of both bids. In a sense, it feels somewhat futuristic the debate that we are having, but the reality, as John Scott and others have pointed out, is that the economic benefits are real and in many ways are already here in Scotland's contribution to the growing sector and the industry itself. The latest figures show that Scotland is just under 5 per cent of the total turnover in the UK space sector, and 16 per cent of the jobs within the sector. There are ambitious targets for Scotland to seize 1 per cent of the global space sector market by 2030. 1 per cent does not sound like much, but in economic value that is £4 billion per year to the Scottish economy, so a prize is absolutely worth pursuing, and the spaceport has the potential to generate a step change within the industry, stimulating further growth. That could be around manufacturing, research, development, design and tourism, and a sense of location wherever is selected. We have been supportive of the bids, but we will be even more supportive when the timescales are made clearer by the UK Government. The final criteria is established another reason not to prematurely rule out one bid over the other, in case the final criteria is such that we may eject a substantial and legitimate bid from Scotland. Recognising the economic benefit that would bring the opportunity to the sense of location, I think that both have strong bids. That said, Presswick Airport has made considerable progress. It has key local and national partners involved, and Scottish Enterprise will continue to support both. Members have asked in the past about the other bids, and it has been for other agencies to pursue those bids, and it is a matter for them to take forward. HIAL has made its position clear, and I think that the MOD by its silence or reluctance has stated its position on their locations as well. In terms of the technical requirements, there will be clear technical requirements that will have to be fulfilled for any bid to be successful, but I think that there is a very strong case around the added value that any bid, any location, could bring in terms of the space industry as well. That will be significant for Scotland and in a UK context and in a European context for the reasons that John Scott has raised in a congratulatum once again for securing this debate. It will focus on the launch of satellites, tourism, destination and all the other benefits that it will bring. The member's debate is about presswick, and John Scott's once again has covered the issues around the infrastructure that is at the location, the history, the potential that is presented. Even the weather is used uniquely as an asset, as a positive in a Scottish context. Scotland is the only country in the world where we can have four seasons in one day, but at the location in presswick it is a clear advantage for the reasons that are being given. We will back both bids as they progress forward. As all becomes clearer through the UK Government, we will support through individual support and, hopefully through collaboration, as a number of members have raised. The choice for a spaceport in the UK should be in Scotland so that we can maximise the benefits of that and take advantage of the immense potential that our people and our destinations can offer. In that sense, we wholeheartedly support both bids and look forward to working enthusiastically with the partners to secure the spaceport for Scotland. That concludes John Scott's Members' debate on presswick airport spaceport bid.