The U.K. Parliament’s Science and Technology Committee (STC) is urging the government to take a more proactive approach toward its space policy.

The U.K. space sector has “great economic potential,” and industry is “ambitious and focused,” the STC said in a July 17 report, “2007: A Space Policy.” In the wide-ranging study, the STC also stressed needs for increased funding and increased education as vital elements to inspire the space sector.

There are still “weaknesses in the organizational structures, funding and coordination of space activities,” and the study specified a number of areas that need improvement even as it characterized the sector as having “an enthusiasm for discovery, research and experimentation.”

Among the concerns the STC stressed were a “skills shortage” within in the industry despite the recognized presence of world-leading space scientists and technologists. “The lack of a domestic program to support early stage technology development places the [United Kingdom] at a disadvantage,” the study said. “The STC suggested that the National Space Technology Program “could fill this funding gap” and urged the government to provide the “appropriate” funding for the initiative.

The report’s authors also seemed to question the government’s attitudes towards human spaceflight. In a veiled criticism of current government policy, the report noted that “the U.K. does not fund launchers to any significant level or participate in human spaceflight programs. Exploration is crucial to improve knowledge and understanding of space. The government’s stance should be flexible enough to ensure that the best science can be funded, whether that be undertaken by manned or robotic exploration.”

A need for heightened awareness toward the benefits of space-based activities is a key conclusion of the report. Its authors assert that the British public is largely “still unaware of the variety, breadth and importance that space activities play in their everyday lives.”

The STC welcomed plans to establish a European Space Education Resource Office contact point in the United Kingdom and expressed hope that such would lead to a national space education project.

The overall tone of the report was for the United Kingdom to take a more active role in the space industry. It said the British government needed to take a strategic approach to space activities such as robotic exploration, satellite navigation and Earth observation. Yet it also recognized that a “strong political lead” was essential. While highlighting opportunities in areas such as exploration, satellite navigation and Earth observation, it said the government has to increase funding for space programs for the benefit of future generations, lest the United Kingdom risk being left behind in a potentially vibrant space industry.