§ 53. Mr. Ellis Smithasked the Minister of Education, as representing the Minister for Science, what urgent action he proposes to take to harness the nation's scientific resources to bring about a large-scale increase in the export of manufactured goods in preparation for the future world needs in technological development.
§ Sir D. EcclesThe Government have for many years taken steps to promote 125W the development of the nation's scientific resources, and to encourage their application to industrial production. The Department of Industrial and Scientific Research, in co-operation with industry, is at present undertaking a series of combined technical and economic studies of particular industries of national importance, designed principally to discover where additional scientific research and development effort can most usefully be applied. My noble Friend has no doubt that the export trade, in common with other aspects of the nation's activity, will materially benefit from the effort already being made by the Government, by industry and by our research institutions.