§ 54. Mr. Phillip Oppenheimasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will make a statement on the results of the design for profit campaign.
§ Mr. ButcherThe design for profit campaign consisted of a series of 12 conferences aimed at senior industrial management. The objectives were to improve industrial awareness of the fundamental importance of design in the competitiveness of a product; and to encourage firms to use external design expertise. The campaign has been a success, with over 1,500 people attending the seminars, most of them senior managers from industry. A sample survey taken after each conference has indicated that many of those attending have been encouraged to rethink their attitudes to product design. Supporting evidence of this can be found in the rate of applications for assistance under our funded consultancy scheme which has doubled during the campaign. I am very encouraged that a significant number of firms which have benefited from the scheme are already forming continuing relationships with design consultants.