21. Mr. Fred Evansasked the Secretary of State for Employment and Productivity whether she will introduce legislation to amend the Industrial Training Act in order to enable the Industrial Training 1689 Board for the Hotel and Catering Industry to extend its scope, in view of the limitations placed on it by a recent decision of the House of Lords.
§ Mr. DellYes. I shall take the first opportunity of introducing an amending Bill for this purpose.
Mr. EvansIs my hon. Friend aware of the keen sense of injustice felt by many employees, not least those in local authority employment, as a result of being denied the opportunity of proper training? Will he, whenever a weakness is revealed in the Act—as a result of an appeal court decision—which has enabled certain employers to deny their employees the opportunities of training, take immediate steps to close such loopholes?
§ Mr. DellAs I said to my hon. Friend, it is our hope to introduce legislation on this as soon as we can.
§ Mr. R. CarrCan the hon. Gentleman enlighten us further as to what he means by "as soon as we can"? Can he confirm that it will definitely be in this Session of Parliament, because I think that the House would think that anything later would be disgraceful?
§ Mr. DellI cannot give the right hon. Gentleman a definite date, but I hope that it will be in this Session of Parliament. I cannot guarantee that.