§ Dr. Liam FoxTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how he will respond to the national strategic technology acquisition plan submitted to him by his Department's aviation committee; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SainsburyI have today written to the chairman of the aviation committee to confirm to him that my Department will adopt the technologies and priorities128W identified in NSTAP to inform its activities. We have already ensured that DTI's own aeronautics research programme—CA RAD—is focused on NSTAP's category 1 priorities; for example, advanced aerodynamic wing design and manufacture using fibre composites, aircraft engine emissions limitation and control, and system integration. But there is clearly an opportunity for a more wide-ranging effort, within both the public and the private sector, to consider priorities jointly using NSTAP as a starting point. Over the coming months the DTI will be working with those responsible for other publicly funded science and technology programmes to identify ways to meet the priority needs of the aerospace industry.