§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry what action he is taking to ensure that Great Britain has a major biotechnological industry able to export micro-bial technology especially in the fields of agriculture and energy.
§ Mr. David MitchellIndustry must form its own view of the significance of biotechnological developments. For their part, the Government are seeking to create conditions in which United Kingdom companies will be willing and able to seize major technological opportunities. Departmental support under existing schemes is already available for biotechnological developments. Those which relate specifically to agriculture and energy are the responsibility of my right hon. Friends the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretary of State for Energy.