§ Mr. HoltTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what measures he is adopting to encourage United Kingdom manufacturers to take advantage of progress in the area of knowledge-based systems.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI am pleased to announce that my Department has recently agreed to support a £3.8 million programme to encourage United Kingdom manufacturing and processing industries to adopt the computer software 39W technology of knowledge-based systems, also known as "expert systems". The DTI contribution will be £1.9 million. The programme, called manufacturing intelligence, is targeted at strategic decision makers. It aims to increase awareness of how this technology can enable companies to improve their operational effectiveness and suggests ways in which they might best implement the new methods in their own factories. Innovative applications will be promoted through industrial collaborative projects. The programme is intended to promote the uptake of new technology in United Kingdom industry and should substantially contribute to increased productivity and competitiveness.