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The new Department combined the functions of the previous Department of Industry with the commercial relations and trade functions of the Department of Trade. The Department gained responsibility for radio frequency regulation from the Home Office whilst responsibility for civil aviation and shipping was transferred to the Department of Transport.
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1984 |
On 7th August the Department assumed direct control of the Radio Interference Service (RIS) from British Telecom. This service was renamed the Radio Investigation Service (RIS) to reflect its activities more accurately.
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1985 |
On 15th April Mr David Trippier was designated Minister with special coordinating responsibilities for issues relating to reclamation and recycling of waste. Mr Trippier combined this new post with his then current one of Minister for Small Firms. Later in the year on 3rd September the responsibilities for Small Firms, Small Firms Centres and Tourism were transferred to the Department of Employment.
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1986 |
On Friday 21 March the Board of Trade met as part of the bicentenary celebrations.
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1987 |
In July the Enterprise and Deregulation Unit (EDU) and Inner Cities Unit (ICU) were transferred to the Department from the Department of Employment.
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1988 |
On 12th January Lord Young announced a new role for the DTI in a White Paper entitled "DTI - the Department for Enterprise". The following reorganisation caused the industry divisions to be replaced by market divisions which were organised by sector and covered a wider range of activities.
On 3rd October Companies House achieved Executive Agency status.
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1989 |
On April 18 the National Weights and Measures Laboratory became an Executive Agency followed two days later by Warren Spring Laboratory. The Laboratory of the Government Chemist was launched as an Agency on 30th October.
On 31st July the functions of the Business Statistics Office were taken over by the Central Statistical Office ((CSO) now Office of National Statistics (ONS)) as part of a reorganisation of government statistical services.
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1990 |
On 21st February Nicholas Ridley announced a DTI reorganisation following the conclusion of the review started by Lord Young. The DTI's work would be grouped together in new divisions, each responsible for an overall policy theme. The new divisions created included: Business Task Forces; Information Technology; Manufacturing Technology; Telecommunications and Posts; Economics, Market Intelligence and Statistics.
More Executive Agencies were created during the year. The Patent Office took on Executive Agency status on 1st March followed closely by the Insolvency Service on 21st March. Radiocommunications became an Agency on 2nd April and lastly the National Engineering Laboratory on 5th October.
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1991 |
On 14th March the creation of the Joint Directorate was announced. This new unit was drawn from the staff of both the DTI and FCO. From April all export services available through DTI and FCO were marketed under a new brand name 'Overseas Trade Services'.
On 1st October Peter Lilley announced that the Accounts Services Agency would be the first of the DTI's central services to take agency status. Also the Patent Office and Companies House would move to a new trading fund status.
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1992 |
On his appointment to the DTI on 11th April Michael Heseltine chose to revive the title President of the Board of Trade instead of using the now more usual title of Secretary of State.
On 13 April following the General Election it was announced that the Department of Energy would merge with the DTI. The Department would also take responsibility for small firms from the Department of Employment. However the Inner Cities Unit was transferred to the Department of the Environment, work on films and the export licensing of art to the new Department for National Heritage and the Financial Services Division would move to the Treasury the following month.
On 3 July Michael Heseltine announced a major DTI reorganisation which reshaped the Department to relate more closely to sectors of industry. Eleven new divisions were created, seven of which were sectoral divisions.
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1993 |
On 25th January a new hotline called 'Business in Europe' was launched to help UK companies to do business in Europe.
On 10 June the formation was announced of the new National Technology Centre to be created from Warren Spring Laboratory and AEA Technology. Warren Spring Laboratory ceased as a separate entity at the end of the financial year.
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1995 |
On 12th July, John Major undertook a cabinet re-shuffle, Michael Heseltine became Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State. The new President of the Board of Trade and Secretary of State for Trade and Industry was Ian Lang. The Department of Employment was merged with the Department for Education to become Department for Education and Employment (DfEE) The DTI inherited the functions of industrial relations from the Employment Dept: also from the Cabinet Office came the Office of Science and Technology (OST). The Competitiveness Division and Deregulation Unit were transferred from DTI to the Cabinet Office.
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1997 |
After the general election of 1 May, Tony Blair, the new Prime Minister,
announced his new cabinet on 6 May, appointing
Margaret Beckett as the new
President of the Board of Trade, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry.
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1998 |
On 27 July Tony Blair undertook a cabinet re-shuffle and appointed
Peter Mandelson as Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. On 23
December Stephen Byers succeeded Peter Mandelson as Secretary of State.
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1999 |
In April, the Overseas Trade
Services of the DTI were combined with the overseas posts of the Foreign
and Commonwealth Office to form British Trade International. British
Trade International is headed by a Chief Executive answerable directly
to the Secretary of State for Trade & Industry and the Foreign
Secretary.
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2001 |
After the general election of 7
June Patricia Hewitt was appointed as Secretary of State for Trade and
Industry and Minister for Women. Patricia
Hewitt became the
DTI's longest serving Secretary of State.
At the same time there were
major changes in the responsibilities of the DTI. These included
taking over responsibility for the Regional Development agencies and
the construction industry from the former DETR.
Shared
responsibility with the FCO for British Trade International was vested
in a single Minister of State. The Department also took over
responsibility for Sunday trading and British summertime from the Home
Office.
Since then the DTI has taken on responsibility for the Women and Equality
Unit from the Cabinet Office and the Shareholder Executive.
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