§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry why Government Departments are withdrawing participation from the formulation of British Standards.
§ Mr. PattieThe Government remain firmly committed to raising the efficiency and competitiveness of United Kingdom industry through their support for and development of a strong national standards system as stated in the 1982 White Paper "Standards, Quality and International Competitiveness" (Cmnd. 8621). Government Departments therefore continue to participate fully in the work of the British Standards Institution. There will, however, be occasions when changing priorities lead to changes in membership of particular standards committees, and these are a matter for the Departments directly concerned.