§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what commitment in terms of expenditure and person years of staff time has been given to the STEP—standard for exchange of product data—programme in 179W 1993–94; what similar commitment has been outlined for 1994–95; and what report has been made to Parliament on its progress.
§ Mr. McLoughlinThe main United Kingdom commitment to the internatioinal development of STEP—ISO 10303; standard for the exchange of product model data—is undertaken through BSI/DISC. Within the DTI innovation budget, spend on STEP projects in 1993–94 was £336,444. For the current year, 1994–95, the forecast is £371,253, of which £88,181 has been committed. STEP is not specifically identified within the DTI manpower returns and no specific report has been made to Parliament.