§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what meetings(a) she and (b) her Ministers have held with the Engineering Council since 1 May 1997; what was the subject of the discussions; and what future meetings are planned. [35040]
§ Mr. BattleI met Dr. Alan Rudge, the Chairman of the Engineering Council, and Mr. Michael Heath, the Director General, on 27 November 1997. A wide range of topics were discussed, including the role of engineering and engineers in international competitiveness and the public perception of engineers and engineering in our society.
Lord Simon spoke on the subject of competitiveness and engineering skills at last year's Annual Conference of the Engineering Council, and my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade is expected to address this Annual Conference on 30 April.
I also hope to address the Senate of the Engineering Council in December of this year.
650WIn addition, officials of the Department of Trade and Industry are in frequent, almost daily, contact with the Engineering Council on a wide range of issues and I welcome their proposed advertising campaign on engineering.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will alter the title of the Chief Scientific Adviser to reflect his engineering responsibilities; and if she will make a statement. [35041]
§ Mr. BattleThe title, role and remit of the Chief Scientific Adviser, Sir Robert May, are matters for my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister who received his advice directly. There are currently no plans to make any changes to these arrangements. In this context, "scientific" is interpreted broadly to encompass scientific, engineering and technological issues, as for instance, in the guidelines on the use of scientific advise in policy making, published in March 1997 by the Office of Science and Technology.