July 1998

Westminster Report, IEE Review

It has been a quiet few weeks in Westminster on the engineering front, with the wider focus on research and development and the relationship between the environment and industry. Nevertheless, Parliamentarians have continued to speak up for engineers, and many have highlighted the continued problems facing manufacturers because of the high pound.

Indeed, Austin Mitchell MP, an often "off message" Labour backbencher, spoke up for the Engineering Employers Federation, when he highlighted their figures showing a sharp decline in exports, reporting a loss for the first time in three years. As Mr Mitchell stated "they all face international competition and are all shackled by overvaluation".

In the Upper House, Lord Sanderson of Bowden urged his fellow Peers to consider the Scottish Engineering report that the strength of sterling and labour shortages pose real current dangers. Playing on David Steel's notable speech ("return to your constituencies and prepare for government"), Lord Sanderson argued that MPs should return to their constituencies and prepare for slowdown. The recent rise in interest rates will have done nothing to alleviate this problem and the Treasury and Bank of England will have to take remedial action soon, if our manufacturing industry is not to be decimated by a needless recession.

Meanwhile, in the Commons, Employment Minister Kim Howells announced the results of the review of the Construction Industry Training Board and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board. He stated that the Boards had implemented a number of recommendations of Stage 1 of the review and had made a number of suggestions, including measures to strengthen their strategic capabilities as national training organisations. This would involve the publication of full labour market assessments at both national and regional level, and dissemination of the more strategic elements of the Board's work.

During discussion on the Competition Bill, Liberal Democrat Spokesman David Chidgey spoke up for the profession, when he noted that the Engineering Council, despite being recognised by the Government as the voice of engineering, maintained a register of 300,000 engineers, many of whom would not be currently covered by the Bill's provisions. Mr Chidgey, a consultant civil engineer, argued that the definitions used by the Council (three grades of professional engineer: chartered & incorporated and technicians) should also be recognised by the Government. The Lib Dem MP was supported by his Tory opposite number Tim Boswell, who, as Shadow Industry Spokesman, has made clear his desire to ensure that engineering interests are not passed over by the Government

This is an important subject Mr Chidgey has raised on a number of occasions. In May for example, he reminded MPs that the provisions of the Bill would not cover many members on the current register of 30,000. As of writing it appears that the Government has yet to take these concerns on board though meetings with DTI Minister Ian McCartney with the Engineering Council have been promising.

Upstairs in Committee, the Trade and Industry Commons Select Committee, published their Sixth report, which looked at Small and Medium Size Enterprises. The Committee noted the low ownership and shortage of communications technology by SMEs, a point that had been made forcefully by the Engineering Council. In its submission to the Committee, the Engineering Council noted that transferring technology or best practice to SMEs required a staff member able to understand and appreciate the advantages. Since there was often no such person in the SME, an intermediary was needed, which could be a large company, an independent research organisation or a university department. The Science and Technology Committee are currently undertaking an enquiry into engineering and physical sciences based on innovation - encompassing the provision of finance to support enterprises involved in the application of research and innovation.

Turning to Government, there have been engineering related policy developments across Whitehall. President of the Board of Trade, Margaret Beckett (who is afflicted by reshuffle fever speculation now infecting Westminster), reaffirmed the Government's commitment to the industry, pledging that engineers were vital to the UK's competitiveness.

Speaking to the Engineering Council annual conference, Mrs Beckett stated that it was engineers, "who develop new manufacturing processes and products. They create and manage energy, transport and communication systems. They prevent new and solve new environmental problems. They create pioneering healthcare devices. In short it is engineers who make technology work".

Nevertheless, it was important for the profession to encourage a new vision of engineering for the Twenty First century and Mrs Beckett emphasised the environmental challenge facing the industry. It was not a question of competitiveness versus sustainability - both objectives were complimentary: "increasingly the companies which succeed will be the ones which integrate sustainability into their strategic thinking".

In a related theme, Industry Minister John Battle urged business to seize the opportunities offered by Europe's commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing in renewable sources of energy, combined heat and power systems and energy efficiency.

An encouraging development was the publication of the Progress Report on the Technological Foresight Initiative. The report revealed that Whitehall Departments and public sector organisations have substantially increased their involvement in Foresight over the last six months. The Government have said that the next round of Foresight, due to begin in 1999, will include a number of cross cutting themes, including sustainable development, future cities, crime control and the ageing population. A further progress report is expected to be published by the end of the year.

The reconstituted government backed Council for Science and Technology had its inaugural meeting in June and drew up an initial work plan and practice. It is understood that the Council will focus in depth on a limited number of strategic issues of its choosing, which are of major, medium to long term consequence to the UK. The Council's aim is to provide the government with independent advice on science and technology issues.