HC Deb 05 February 1998 vol 305 c783W
33. Mr. Bradshaw

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what progress her Department has made in preparing United Kingdom businesses for EMU. [25719]

Mrs. Beckett

My noble Friend the Minister for Trade and Competitiveness in Europe, who is a Minister in both the DTI and the Treasury, has been appointed as Minister responsible for business preparations.

My Department has worked with the Treasury to produce a Booklet "EMU: Practical Information for Business", some 65,000 copies of which have been distributed. My Ministerial colleagues and officials also emphasise the need for firms to prepare for the single currency in their contacts with business. To reinforce this approach, the Government are also planning an awareness and information campaign to alert British business to the effects of EMU from 1 January 1999 and help them prepare.