§ Sir Nicholas Bonsorasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he has appointed a new chairman of the National Enterprise Board; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Sir Keith JosephSir Frederick Wood has accepted my invitation to take over as chairman of the NEB from 1 February 1981, when Sir John King resigns to become chairman of British Airways. Sir Frederick Wood will retain his other public appointment as chairman of the NRDC and—as was Sir Arthur Knight—will be part-time chairman of the NEB.
In making this appointment I am asking Sir Frederick to explore the scope for bringing the two organisations closer together. It is not my intention that there should be any immediate change in the existing functions which the two organisations currently perform. There are some activities which are quite separate and could not readily be combined, but the two organisations do have a number of overlapping activities.
I should like to express my thanks to Sir John King for having acted as part-time chairman since Sir Arthur Knight's resignation and for the contribution he has made to the NEB as deputy chairman since his appointment in November 1979.