HC Deb 15 June 1965 vol 714 cc225-7
11. Mr. Boston

asked the Minister of Technology what progress he is making in his plans to expand Great Britain's computer industry.

Mr. Cousins

As my hon. Friend knows, I announced on 1st March a programme for assisting the development of a flourishing computer industry. Good progress has been made in implementing this programme. The Computer Advisory Service is now in operation in my Department. A review of the University and Research Council computer requirements is virtually complete. The National Research Development Corporation is working on proposals for assisting the computer industry. Consultations are in progress on the formation of a National Computer Programme Centre.

Mr. Boston

Would my right hon. Friend not agree that it is essential to give a considerable amount of priority to this, especially in view of the need to make up the immense amount of ground lost by the last Government? Can he say in more definite terms what progress he has made with the National Computer Programme Centre?

Mr. Cousins

I would agree that it is essential that we should make progress with this, whoever is responsible for the situation we were in, because I think it ought to be remedied. Discussions on the National Computer Programme Centre have been held between my Department and the various interests concerned. We have not yet reached conclusions either on location or the extent of this project. I think those who are associated with computers know this is a very complicated subject. This is particularly true in relation to programming.

Mr. Marples

The original question mentions Great Britain's computer industry. Might I ask the right hon. Gentleman to define what he thinks Great Britain's computer industry is? For example, is it British-owned firms only, or would a 100 per cent. American-owned subsidiary here constitute part of Great Britain's computer industry?

Mr. Cousins

It is part of Britain's computer-producing industry. When one talks about a British-owned firm one is naturally more interested in a British-owned firm, as questions from that side of the House showed a short time ago when hon. Gentlemen asked me if I was prepared to give money for research projects sponsored by an American-controlled firm. We think that the British-controlled computer industry is one wholly British-owned, with its research done here and its staff situated here. But we are not discriminating against other people who are producing computers here. We are not discriminating against them in the sense that they have growing markets for production which we hope to pick up.

Mr. Maxwell

Is my right hon. Friend aware that businessmen and computer experts on both sides of the Atlantic are agreed that had the former Administration made available the necessary resources to the computer industry ten years ago it would not be in the poor state it is in today? Does my right hon. Friend further appreciate that industry in this country and abroad is very well satisfied and congratulate him on the wonderful work he is doing to pull the market together?

Mr. Cousins

It is known, of course, that some of the foreign-operated computer firms have issued literature demonstrating that they think there is a market in Britain because we have not taken advantage of our own opportunities.

Mr. Biffen

So that there should he no ambiguity about this, could the right hon. Gentleman say, even if he is not discriminating against foreign-owned subsidiaries operating in Britain, whether he is discriminating in favour of wholly owned British computer industries?

Mr. Cousins

We have made clear in various discussions on the subject that we should encourage British firms to secure orders competitively against anyone.