§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Prime Minister whether she plans to retain the services of the panel of 17 advisers and the teams within the Cabinet Office responsible for coordinating policy on information technology: and if she will make a statement on further Government support for information technology.
§ The Prime MinisterIn our observations on the report "Science in Government" by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology—Cmnd. 8591—we announced a strengthening of the Cabinet Office's resources for science and technology and the responsibilities of the chief scientific adviser, Dr. Robin Nicholson, include the co-ordination of aspects of information technology policy. In addition, the information technology advisory panel continues to advise the Government. The Department of Trade and Industry's support for new technologies alone increased from £100 million in 1978–79 to over £350 million in 1983–84.