§ Mr. George Robertsonasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he will give details of his Department's activities to promote industrial awareness of the potential applications of microelectronics.
§ Mr. VarleyBetween. May and July of this year there will be a series of awareness workshops under the microprocessor application project to which we are inviting chief executives of the thousand leading industrial companies. These meetings will be organised in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and by the regional offices of my Department in England. The workshops will give industry a high-level and comprehensive briefing on the very broad impact of the 319W technology. The briefings will essentially be non-technical, concentrating on the need to ensure that United Kingdom industry recognises the opportunities for new products and new production methods. In the meanwhile, my Department has been holding discussions with the Trades Union Congress to see how assistance can be given to the trade union movement's own activities in promoting awareness and debate about the application of microelectronics.