§ Mr CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it his policy that video equipment in the United Kingdom should not be rendered obsolete by any agreement with the United States regarding specifications for such equipment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI have been asked to reply.
In areas of rapid technological development, such as video products, existing technology is always being superseded by more advanced technology as a matter of course. The Government have no ability to stop technological progress, including video equipment, even if they wanted to.
Although world-wide standardisation of video systems would bring the benefits of a larger, more competitive marketplace, the United Kingdom Government have no plans at present for any bilateral agreement with the United States on specifications for such equipment.