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Finance (No. 2) Bill

I agree. It is important that regional development agencies throughout Britain play a part in such initiatives. I regard such agencies as more broadly based financial and management consultants that can help small companies to move from the university desk to the factory floor. We have always been a trading nation and, thankfully, we remain one today. The strength of our economy will be based on our future international competitiveness, and it will be founded on ever-higher skill levels, or it will not be founded at all. It depends on the adoption of new technology, not only in the crucial small company sector but in larger and medium-sized organisations, and on the provision of ever-greater added value to the various enterprises in which we engage. We have major strengths in the internationally traded economy. We are world leaders in pharmaceuticals, aerospace, engineering design and the financial services market.