§ Mr. Arnoldasked the Secretary of State for Industry whether he is satisfied with the United Kingdom's engineering standards in comparison with the standards applied by the United Kingdom's international competitors; and what progress is being made to lay down internationally agreed standards for British goods.
§ Mr. MacGregorMany British engineering standards already reflect international standards and the British Standards Institution has Government backing in devoting considerable efforts to international standards-making. In a time of rapid technological change and increasing competition for domestic and overseas markets, there is a growing need to ensure that national standards fully meet the more exacting requirements of the market. To this end, in collaboration with the Secretary of State for Trade and the BSI, my right hon. Friend has embarked upon a systematic improvement in the content and status of British engineering standards and is encouraging the adoption of international standards acceptable to British industry and to our principal overseas markets.