§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the impact of the Queen's Awards to Industry. [123547]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answer 24 May 2000]: The Queen's Awards for Export, Technological and Environmental Achievement (formerly The Queen's Award for Industry) were reviewed in 1999 by a Committee under the chairmanship of HRH The Prince of Wales. The Review Committee made 16 key recommendations including a new generic title, "The Queen's Awards for Enterprise", with broader criteria for the three categories: International Trade, Innovation, and Environmental Achievement. The Committee also recommended further work to define criteria for a Queen's Award in the field of sustainable development to be incorporated into the Awards in 2001. The Committee's recommendations were accepted in full by Her Majesty The Queen and the Prime Minister in September 1999.
598W(2) how much his Department spent on opinion research in the financial year 1999–2000. [123309]
§ Mr. Byers[holding answers 23 May 2000]: (i) The following table lists all surveys carried out by the DTI and it's agencies in the financial year 1999–2000, which involved an element of opinion research, and which are subject to survey control. All of the surveys listed are considered to contain an element of opinion research, but it is not possible to break these down further into Focus Group, Quantitative and other sub-divisions with any accuracy. Details of where and when results have been published can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(ii) The total cost to the department for all surveys carried out in the financial year 1999–2000 containing an element of opinion research was about £578,000.
The Review commissioned market research into perceptions of the Queen's Awards among a structured sample of businesses across a wide range of sectors of business activity. Almost 90 per cent. of all respondents said that British business continued to attach importance to the Queen's Awards; over 90 per cent. of organisations said that people employed in Award winning units continued to be enthusiastic about the Awards and that the Awards provided recognition of outstanding achievement; 74 per cent. of respondents said that the Queen's Awards were the most prestigious awards for achievement in the UK economy; and 78 per cent. of Award winners said that the Awards provided an incentive to outstanding achievement.
Since the Awards were first introduced in 1966, a total of 45,534 applications have been submitted with a total of 4,282 applicants being granted a Queen's Award. Each year many previous Award winners reapply because of the highly positive effect on their marketing of the use of the Queen's Awards emblem on their products, stationery 599W and advertising material. They also cite the enhanced morale and team spirit among their staff which flows from the company winning such a prestigious accolade.