§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Industry what plans he has for the future of the computer aided design centre; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe Government set up the computer aided design centre (CADCENTRE) in 1969 to promote the use of computer-aided design and manufacture (CAD/CAM) techniques in British industry. Since then this has been successful in a number of key areas, notably in CAD for the process industries sector and computer-aided engineering for the manufacturing sector. Given this success I think that the time is now right for CADCENTRE to operate as a fully commercial organisation and have therefore set in motion an investigation to consider how this can best be achieved.
As the key asset in this sort of business is the staff, my aim would be to keep the team intact. Obviously the needs of British suppliers and users, as well as those of ICL whose assistance has been so helpful over the years in providing the staff for the Centre, will need to be considered. My intention here is not to cut off any such companies from this source of basic knowledge and know-how. I am therefore keen to learn from United Kingdom companies of any statement of interest which they may have.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Industry what public funds have been invested in the computer aided design centre.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerGross expenditure on the computer aided design centre from its inception to the end of the financial year 1980–81 was £21.2 million, of which £4.2 million was capital expenditure. Receipts in the same period amounted to £6.2 million.
§ Mr. Wrigglesworthasked the Secretary of State for Industry what revenue has been received by the computer aided design centre in the past year; and from what sources.
§ Mr. Kenneth BakerThe revenue received by the computer aided design centre in the financial year 1980–81 was £1,509,000, of which £1,445,000 was from the private sector and £51,000 from public sector organisations.