The Space Industry (Appeals) Regulations 2021

PART 2 Appeal panels and appealable decisions

Panel members list

3.—(1) The Secretary of State must appoint persons who are eligible to hear appeals in relation to appealable decisions to be members of a list (“the panel members list”).

(2) The panel members list must consist of at least five members, drawn from UKSA and government departments.

(3) All members of the panel members list must be senior officials in the organisations in question, and for these purposes “senior official” means—

(a) a member of the senior civil service in a government department, but not a person who has been temporarily promoted to the senior civil service, or

(b) a person holding an equivalent rank in UKSA.

(4) The Secretary of State may appoint the holder of an office specified by the Secretary of State to be a member of the panel members list, provided that the holder of that office satisfies the requirement in paragraph (3).

(5) Persons on the panel members list—

(a) hold and vacate their appointments in accordance with the terms on which they are appointed, and

(b) are eligible for re-appointment at the end of their period of appointment.

(6) The terms and conditions of appointment of persons on the panel members list must be determined by the Secretary of State.

Appeal panels

4.—(1) An appeal, or a request for permission to appeal(1), in respect of an appealable decision, is to be determined by an appeal panel appointed by the Secretary of State under regulation 6(2).

(2) Subject to paragraph (6), an appeal panel must consist of three or more members, including, where possible, a representative from UKSA.

(3) One member of each appeal panel appointed must be designated by the Secretary of State as the chair of that panel.

(4) Where an appeal may involve the consideration of sensitive information, all members of the appeal panel appointed to hear that appeal must have a level of security clearance regarded as appropriate by the government of the United Kingdom for persons with access to that material.

(5) No member of the panel members list may be appointed to an appeal panel if that member has been involved in the decision which is being appealed or has any other conflict of interest.

(6) Where it is not possible to appoint an appeal panel with three members in a particular case because—

(a) there are only two members available, or

(b) one of the proposed members has a conflict of interest,

an appeal panel may sit with two members.

(7) In any case where an appeal panel is sitting with an even number of members, the chair is to have a second vote.

Staff and facilities

5.—(1) The Secretary of State must—

(a) appoint a secretary to the appeal panels;

(b) make arrangements to ensure that each appeal panel receives appropriate legal and expert advice.

(2) The Secretary of State may—

(a) make staff and other facilities available to appeal panels;

(b) make arrangements for a website for the appeal panels;

(c) make payments—

(i) by way of remuneration, allowances or expenses to members of appeal panels, or

(ii) to cover the cost of facilities provided to appeal panels, including the costs of expert advice.

Constitution of appeal panel

6.—(1) When the secretary to the appeal panels has received an application for permission to appeal under regulation 8(1), the secretary must inform the Secretary of State.

(2) The Secretary of State must, in accordance with regulation 4, appoint an appeal panel from the panel members list to consider the application.

Prescribed decisions and people

7.—(1) The following decisions are prescribed for the purposes of paragraph 4(1) of Schedule 10 to the Act—

(a) refusal, under regulation 64 of the Space Industry Regulations 2021 (“the Regulations”)(2), to approve the appointment of a training manager of a licensee;

(b) revocation, under regulation 65 of the Regulations, of the approval of the appointment of a training manager;

(c) refusal, under regulation 67 or 68 of the Regulations, to approve a training manual of a licensee or proposed changes to a training manual;

(d) refusal, under regulation 81 of the Regulations, to accept a revision to a safety case;

(e) refusal, under regulation 82 of the Regulations, to accept a revision to a risk assessment;

(f) refusal, under regulation 156 of the Regulations, to accept a revision to a safety case;

(g) a decision to serve a prohibition notice under regulation 249 of the Regulations;

(h) a decision to serve a stop notice under regulation 265(2) of the Regulations;

(i) a decision not to issue a completion certificate under regulation 267(5) of the Regulations;

(j) a decision not to award compensation under regulation 268(1) of the Regulations;

(k) a decision as to the amount of the compensation awarded under regulation 268(1) of the Regulations.

(2) The following persons are prescribed persons for the purposes of paragraph 4(2) of Schedule 10 to the Act—

(a) the licensee, or applicant for a licence, who applied for approval of the appointment of the training manager concerned, in relation to an appeal against the decisions referred to in sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) of paragraph (1);

(b) the licensee, or applicant for a licence, who applied for approval of a training manual, in relation to an appeal against the decision referred to in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1);

(c) the holder of the operator licence, in relation to an appeal against the decision referred to in sub-paragraph (d) of paragraph (1);

(d) the holder of the operator licence, in relation to an appeal against the decision referred to in sub-paragraph (e) of paragraph (1);

(e) the holder of the spaceport licence, in relation to an appeal against the decision referred to in sub-paragraph (f) of paragraph (1);

(f) the person to whom a prohibition notice was given, in relation to an appeal against the decision referred to in sub-paragraph (g) of paragraph (1);

(g) the person on whom a stop notice was served, in relation to an appeal against the decision referred to in sub-paragraphs (h), (i), (j) and (k) of paragraph (1).

(1)

Paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 10 to the Space Industry Act 2018 provides that an appeal to a panel may be brought only with the panel’s permission.

(2)

S.I. 2021/792.