§ Mr. LetwinTo ask the President of the Board of Trade in what circumstances Ministers in her Department are entitled to endorse particular products and services. [12475]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyIn pursuit of Ministers' policy objectives, the DTI provides support to individual companies in a variety of ways, for example those seeking particular major business overseas, or through its small firms merit award for research and technology—SMART—to innovators. The DTI also makes use of a large number of contractors and advisers in the course of discharging its responsibilities. The existence of these arrangements, while not conferring a ministerial endorsement on the firms in question, is normally a matter of public record and the firms concerned routinely refer to them in their own publicity and promotional material.