§ Mr. Ian TaylorTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans there are to follow up the Year of Engineering Success campaign within her Department's activities. [9409]
§ Mr. BattleIt has always been the intention that one of the major outputs of the Year of Engineering Success should be an on-going commitment by the engineering community to communicate both the importance of engineering to our society and the opportunities the profession offers. This will largely be the responsibility of the engineering professional institutions in partnership with the businesses, whose competitiveness relies on engineers. Additionally, my Department will consider proposals to support specific activities linked to public understanding activities, through the Office of Science and Technology.
§ Mr. TaylorTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what support she has pledged to the Year of Engineering Success campaign. [9408]
§ Mr. BattleMy Department has offered £435,000 to assist the Year of Engineering Success. Additional support from the Department for Education and Employment and the Department of the Environment take the total level of government support to £570,000.
In addition to this financial input, my Department will continue to provide ministerial and official support to the campaign, through attendance at relevant events and provision of advice and information to the campaign.