The SNP has sparked fury as Scottish taxpayers were left footing a hefty £11,580 bill for the Scottish minister for innovation to deliver a 15-minute speech on space in Los Angeles – which boils down to £772 per minute.
Richard Lochhead, the SNP minister for small business, innovation, tourism and trade, travelled to America to boast about Scotland’s ambitions to become a leading European space nation at a Space Economy Summit. The cost of his trip, which doesn’t include the expenses of the two officials who accompanied him, has sparked criticism from Tory rivals.
Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser suggested that during a cost of living crisis, the minister could have used technology like Zoom instead of spending public funds on such a trip. It comes as a space strategy published by Scottish ministers last year argued that the sector could boost the economy by £4 billion and create 20,000 jobs, the Scottish Daily Express reports.
The UK Space Agency has granted nearly £7 million to a project that includes four Scottish spaceports in Sutherland, Argyll, Prestwick and the Outer Hebrides. These locations are perfect for Earth-observation satellites due to their polar and sun-synchronous orbits.
Small satellite firms like Orbex in Moray and Clyde Space in Glasgow have also received government support. Murdo Fraser commented: “Space and its related industries offer huge opportunities for Scotland, which is why the UK government is investing tens of millions here. But SNP spending for one of its ministers to cross the globe for a brief speech at a conference, when there’s a huge squeeze on public funds, has less obvious benefits.”
Lochhead, who represents the North East Scotland region in Holyrood, told the conference that “we have to shout a lot louder about some of the things happening in Scotland” and claimed that Scotland was “outperforming the UK and Europe” in terms of foreign investment.
The minister also participated in an “interactive VIP lunch roundtable” with 11 space experts and investors, and met with space venture capital bosses.
A spokesperson for the Scottish government said: “Travel is an essential part of official government business and ministers continue to work on domestic responsibilities while promoting Scottish interests internationally which is more vital than ever given the damage of Brexit to the Scottish economy and trade.”
