§ Mr. HesfordTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on his Department's work to develop the UK as a high-productivity, high-skill knowledge economy. [65284]
§ Mr. ByersThe White Paper on competitiveness, "Our competitive future: building the knowledge driven economy", sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging programme for my Department to promote business competitiveness.
Amongst the proposals there will be new help for businesses to build their capabilities by promoting enterprise; exploiting science and technology; developing skills; and using information and communications technology. There will be substantial assistance to encourage business to collaborate, including funding for ten other sectors to follow the successful SMMT Industry Forum model and substantial backing for the CBI's Fit for the Future campaign to encourage a massive increase across the economy in take-up of best practice.
To provide the right environment in which business can compete, Government will promote open and competitive markets and crack down on harmful anti-competitive behaviour. My department will develop a new strategy to make the UK the leading country for electronic commerce, with legislation to remove legal barriers and support for an industry-led push to boost consumer confidence.