§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps she is taking to encourage university staff to spend time in British industry on secondment. [28007]
§ Mr. BoswellWe support all opportunities that enable academic staff to gain industrial experience. Similarly, we look to industrial personnel to reciprocate wherever possible. Responsibility for developing links with business, of all kinds, rests with individual institutions. Many are conscious of the need to do so, and participate in the range of programmes promoted by the Departments for Employment and of Trade and Industry and the Office for Science and Technology.