§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will make a statement on the impact of the Eureka programme on British industry. [44926]
§ Mr. BattleSince 1985, 513 UK industrial organisations, 225 of them SMEs, have participated, or continue to participate, in 345 Eureka projects. DTI accepts the findings of the 1997 independent evaluation of Eureka, that 70 per cent. of industrial participants achieved new products or processes by the end of their projects.
§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what has been the financial contribution of the United Kingdom towards the Eureka programme. [44927]
§ Mr. BattleDTI has so far made offers totalling £155.08 million towards projects involving UK participants since Eureka began in 1985. Spend to the end of Financial Year 1997–98 was £130.71 million.
§ Dr. GibsonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has to revise the Eureka programme before the year 2000. [44925]
§ Mr. BattleThe UK will work with the other members of Eureka to adapt the initiative so that it continues to be relevant to all sectors of European industry. Any changes will take into account the increasing global nature of R&D, and the changed political and business environment since Eureka's inception. They will appear in the next Eureka Medium Term Plan in June 2000.