HC Deb 19 March 1979 vol 964 c426W
Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for Industry why Great Britain has no independent microelectronics testing house; and if he will endeavour to establish one before foreign testing significantly adds to the import bill.

Mr. Les Huckfield

One major United Kingdom microelectronics company has already established an independent test house service for microelectronic components, approved by the British Standards Institute. The national supervisory inspectorate (EQD) is studying the purchase of a comprehensive automatic test facility also aimed at this objective. In addition, the Department is considering other proposals for the establishment of independent test houses under the microelectronics industry support programme.