§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will set out the terms of reference, objectives and timing for the engineering review being conducted jointly by his Department and the Engineering Council. [103768]
§ Mr. ByersThe broad aim of the working group led by Dr. Robert Hawley, Chairman of the Engineering Council, the "Hawley Group", is to review the contribution the Engineering Council should make to add value to the engineering community by improving the effectiveness of existing activities in such areas as the promotion and standards of engineering, building on existing synergies with other organisations.
The first stage of this work is intended to agree strategic objectives to be achieved over the next three years. It is hoped that the Hawley Group can complete this by the end of January 2000. The second stage will be the development of a strategy for achieving these objectives. The intention is to complete this second stage by the end of July 2000.
A copy of the full Terms of Reference for the Review has been placed in the Library.
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Date Engineering companies visited Venue 29 January Visit to AES Engineering Rotherham 5 February Visit to Atlas Composites Ilkeston, Derby 8 February Visit to Airbus Broughton, North Wales 8 February Visit to Rover Longbridge, West Midlands 19 February Amereda Hess 'Triton Project' Kvaemer, Port Clarence, Middlesbrough 25 February Addressed the Institution of Electrical Engineers Grosvenor House Hotel, London 19 March Visit to LDV Ltd. Birmingham 22 April Opened the High Pressure Turbine Facility at Rolls Royce Derby 27 April Visit to Motorola Bathgate, West Lothian 29 April Addressed the Engineering Council Conference The Royal Society of Arts London
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what initiatives he has taken since his appointment to support(a) the engineering profession and (b) engineering industries. [103769]
§ Mr. ByersMy Department continues to provide financial support for project work arising from the Action for Engineering initiative, which promoted co-ordinated action to increase substantially the influence, involvement and achievement of professional engineers for the benefit of British industry. The most notable of these is SETNET (Science Engineering Technology Mathematics Network) which aims to bring coherence to the delivery of the somewhat fragmented range of activities aimed at promoting science, engineering, technology and mathematics to school teachers and pupils. It offers a one-stop shop for independent advice to teachers and industry on a range of issues through its regional network of 28 SETPOINTs. DTI and DfEE have provided SETNET with funding of over half a million pounds over the last three years.
We have also offered financial support of up to £175,000 p.a. for three years (possibly five depending on progress) for the Campaign to Promote Engineering (CPE).
Initiatives specifically to support the engineering industries and major engineering sectors have included:
Industry Forum Adaptation
DTI has now embarked upon a £15 million programme to fund up to 10 proposals from sectors to improve their supply chains, adapting from the SMMT Industry Forum model. Two programmes have already been announced under this; the Leading Oil and Gas Competitiveness (LOGIC) project to promote best practice through the oil and gas industry supply chain, and the Lean Aerospace Initiative (LAI).Engineering Technicians Initiative
This initiative announced on 10 September supports the growth of clusters for the training of engineering technicians in manufacturing SMEs.In addition, the Engineering Industries have benefited from a wide range of initiatives addressing the needs of manufacturing industry more generally. These are detailed in the publication "Manufacturing in the Knowledge Driven Economy" issued on 22 November.
§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list(a) the engineering institutions and (b) engineering industries he has visited, and on what dates, since his appointment. [103770]
§ Mr. ByersI have undertaken the following engagements with engineering groups and visited the following engineering companies since my appointment:
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Date Engineering Companies Visited Venue 5 May Address to the Parliamentary Group for Engineering Development Annual Dinner House of Lords 9 June Visit Tensator Ltd. Milton Keynes 25 June Visit to 600 Lathes Heckmondwicke, Yorkshire 6 July Ground Breaking Ceremony for Honda Swindon 6 September Visit to Perlos Washington, Sunderland 6 September Visit to NSK Bearings Peterlee, Durham 21 September Visit to BT Advanced Communications Technology Centre Martlesham, Nr. Ipswich Suffolk 21 September Opening of Granta Park, TWI Cambridge 8 October Visit to British Steel Llanwern, South Wales 15 November Visit to JCB Rocester, Staffs 21 December Visit to Cammell Laird Newcastle