§ Mr. Dudley Smithasked the Secretary of State for the Environment to what extent he is making use of the Building Research Establishment to provide impartial assessments of various building materials and techniques to the building industry at large to assist it in satisfying inquiries related to potential export orders, as well as to assist United Kingdom building.
§ Mr. ArmstrongSuch assessments are the function of the Agreement Board, whose activities have recently been extended to cover traditional materials and techniques, particularly where there is export potential. The Building Research Establishment gives technical support to this board. It also helps the industry through its advisory service, through its substantial contributions to the work of relevant British Standards Institute committees, and by the technical advice it supplies both to this Department, and to the Construction Exports Advisory Board, which is the joint responsibility of the Secretaries of State for the Environment, Trade and Industry.