§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement outlining those steps which have been taken by his Department since 9 April 1992 specifically to assist the United Kingdom manufacturing industry; and what future action he intends to take to assist manufacturing industry.
§ Mr. Sainsbury[holding answer 26 January 1993]: My right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade, my ministerial colleagues and I have ensured that manufacturing industry's concerns are fully taken into account across the full range of the Government's decisions, and we shall continue to do so.
Particular initiatives since 9 April have included:
the re-organisation of the DTI so as to relate more closely to individual sectors of industry and facilitate an informed dialogue between Government and industry, and the creation of a unit on industrial competitiveness;the launch of the one-stop shops competition, where bids are due by noon on 29 January;the strengthening of DTI's support for exporters including recruiting 100 export promoters from the private sector;the launch of the Business in Europe campaign;steering the single market to completion;a full and active part in working for an early and successful completion of the Uruguay round of trade talks;a further £700 million of ECGD cover;co-ordination across Whitehall of the enhanced deregulation initiative to identify and remove unnecessary burdens on business; andnumerous specific individual decisions and actions have also been taken in the light of the Government's interest in manufacturing industry.The Government fully appreciate the part played by manufacturing industry in securing the United Kingdom's long-term prosperity.