The Defence and Security Industrial Engagement Policy (DSIEP) has made good progress since it was launched in the National Security Through Technology White Paper in February 2012. DSIEP tracked over £400 million of inward investment by overseas companies during 2012. This rose to nearly £500 million during 2013. With eight companies now signed up to DSIEP and discussions under way with several others, we hope that this figure will continue to rise. This compares favourably with the previous policy of Industrial Participation. In addition to this quantitative assessment, the Department is in the early stages of a Qualitative assessment of DSIEP and will be engaging with the DSIEP signatories and Defence academics to ensure this is robust.

Defence and procurement issues have been considered by relevant Government Departments, rather than formerly through the Ministerial Working Group. The Group remains available, if needed, to consider cross-Government aspects of the new approach.

A Defence and Security Export Ministerial Working Group has been established under the chairmanship of the Secretary of State for Defence to co-ordinate Defence Export issues across Government.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) maintains a regular dialogue with our suppliers on the key issues facing the armed forces and the wider MOD through the Defence Suppliers' Forum and its associated working groups, which includes the Research and Development Group. Alongside this, we organise regular industry briefings to ensure suppliers have an effective understanding of the requirements of the armed forces.

The Centre for Defence Enterprise continues to provide in depth briefing to potential suppliers and two major events have been held recently in London, on 27 November 2013 concerning cyber defence and on 3 December 2013 on materials science and armour.

The specific MOD Science and Technology requirements and investment opportunities have been explained at the annual Supplier Networking events led by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), most recently in June 2013 where more than 400 suppliers attended, and published at:

https://www.dstl.gov.uk/suppliernetworkingday1

The MOD uses other supplier events to outline these requirements, most recently at Defence Procurement Research Technology and Exportability in Bristol on 20 November 2013.

Dstl works with the Technology Strategy Board's Knowledge Transfer Networks to communicate challenges and threats to the wider supplier base to stimulate their development of solutions. Dstl signed a Strategic Relationship Charter with Research Councils UK (RCUK) in January 2013 and Dstl staff are embedded in most of the Research Councils to bring greater mutual visibility to the different strands of academia and defence.

The National Security Through Technology White Paper (Cm 8278) set out six critical outcomes for defence, security, science and technology. These remain our overall priority.

The Ministry of Defence publishes its Science and Technology requirements on the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) website at:

https://www.dstl.gov.uk/whatwedo

Further details of the science and technology requirements and the investment opportunities are presented at the annual supplier networking events led by DSTL, most recently in June 2013, where more than 400 suppliers attended. The content of the June 2013 event can be found at:

https://www.dstl.gov.uk/suppliernetworkingday1

Counter-terrorism priorities were published in the Contest strategy in 2011. Delivery against these priorities, which includes science and technology, is published annually in the Contest annual report to Parliament at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/contest

The Department's plans for funding the centralised Ministry of Defence Science and Technology Programme, under the Department's chief scientific adviser, as a proportion of the Department's budget, equate to 1.2%, 1.3% and 1.3% in financial years 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 respectively, meeting our intention to sustain science and technology investment at a minimum of 1.2% of the Defence budget.

Following the national curriculum consultation period, which closed on 16 April, we are considering the responses received. We have been engaging with leading figures in industry, such as Dick Olver and Sir James Dyson, schools and academia to ensure that we have world-class design and technology education. We are also committed to providing a curriculum that ensures children receive high-quality cookery teaching and understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

I thank my hon. Friend for his question and for his excellent contribution to the Westminster Hall debate we had on this subject. I would also like to thank him for his views on the maths, science and computing curriculum. We are now working on ensuring that design and technology is more closely integrated with those curricula and that there is an inspiring technological education that crosses many different industry types and gives schools flexibility to teach design and technology in the best way for the next generation.

In design and technology, we absolutely need to listen to those sections of our economy that will generate prosperity for the future and that want people to be well trained. However, cooking is not just important, but critical as a life skill and as a means of ensuring that Britain remains a wonderful and attractive place for visitors and our own citizens. I pay tribute to Henry Dimbleby and John Vincent for the fantastic work they have done on the school food plan.

I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne Central (Chi Onwurah) on 22 October 2012, Official Report, column 616W. Good progress is being made in implementing the recommendations of the National Security Through Technology White Paper (CM 8278).

We do not intend to produce a formal report one year from publication of the White Paper, although we will use opportunities around the time of the anniversary to highlight key White Paper themes and progress in its implementation.