Darling report on industry due

The Design Council is set to deliver a substantial review to Government of how the UK is meeting global competition through design and innovation, following recommendations in 2005’s Cox Review.

However, it has now transpired that the findings will not be made public, and that they will instead take the form of a private report to Alistair Darling, the Secretary of State for the Department of Trade & Industry.

The Design Council had initially planned to evaluate the effectiveness of Cox Review programmes in its own report, but this move was overruled by the DTI last year.

The Darling report will be delivered in the next few weeks and draws on interviews with Design Council partners and about 3000 figures from the business, design and education sectors.

Separately, the Design Council’s industry consultation– dubbed Keep British Design Alive – is to revert to its original name, Design Industry Skills Development Plan, when the findings are revealed later this month. The initiative was met with concern by many in the design industry, who felt that its name was overly negative.