§ Mrs. BrowningTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) if he will make a statement about the establishment of the Review of the Engineering Council by the Hawley Group; [114130]
(2) what representations he has received from outside bodies concerning the Hawley Group Review of the Engineering Council; [114129]
(3) what representations he has received from other Government departments following the first report of the Hawley Group; [114127]
(4) what criteria he used in deciding which representative bodies of the engineering industry were included in the Working Group of the Hawley Group; [114125]
(5) what representations he has received from other Government departments on the establishment of the Hawley Group; [114128]
(6) if he will list the representative bodies of the engineering industry included in the Hawley Group. [114126]
272W
§ Mr. Alan Johnson[holding answer 10 March 2000]: I refer to the written answer I gave on 21 December 1999, Official Report, columns 463–66W. The first stage of the review was completed at the end of January with the publication of the Hawley Group Stage I Report. My noble Friend Lord Sainsbury and the Minister with responsibility for lifelong learning, my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, North (Mr. Wicks) have welcomed the report and congratulated Dr. Hawley on the progress of the review. A copy of the report has been placed in the Library of the House.
The proposition for the review was endorsed at a meeting in November between Lord Sainsbury and a wide range of senior representatives of the engineering community. Although some of those present expressed a wish to see more industrial representation in the membership of the Group, the large majority supported Lord Sainsbury' s view that for the Group to be effective there should be a minimum number of members. It was also recognised that Dr. Hawley's experience as a leading industrialist would be highly valuable in leading the Group.
My noble Friend Lord Sainsbury has received a small number of representations from individuals and bodies on various issues relating to the review and some of those who have responded to Dr. Hawley have copied their replies to him. He has also had discussions with his counterpart in DfEE. Other Government Departments have contributed to the review process at official level. I understand also that following the extensive first stage consultation exercise Dr. Hawley has received nearly 100 detailed responses from a range of individuals and organisations. These are providing helpful contributions towards the Group's continuing work.