§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what(a) financial and (b) other support was provided for the Process Improvement Master Class in (i) 1998–99, (ii) 1999–00 and (iii) 2000–01; what budget there is for 2001–02; and if she will make a statement. [78262]
§ Ms HewittThe Process Improvement Master Class (PIMC) is one of the products offered by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders Industry Forum, whose remit is to help small and medium enterprises improve their productivity. PIMC was developed for the automotive sector, but has also been used in the aerospace sector.
The amount of financial support provided for PIMC by my Department is shown in the table:
£ million 1998–99 1.391 1999–2000 1.613 2000–01 2.298 2001–02 1.317 My Department also provided a secondee, at HEO level, to SMMT Industry Forum over this period.