HC Deb 11 November 1971 vol 825 cc1203-4
6. Mr. Scott-Hopkins

asked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he will set up a new Government training centre in Derbyshire in 1972.

Mr. Bryan

A new Centre will he located in the Chesterfield-Mansfield-Alfreton area. These facilities should benefit Derbyshire.

Mr. Scott-Hopkins

I am grateful for that reply. Does my hon. Friend realise that, while that is sufficient for the time being, there is a growing need for retraining centres if we are to tackle the problem of unemployment? The more retraining centres we have to give alternative skills to working people, the better it will be for the economy.

Mr. Bryan

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is more than aware of that. That is why we are having a very big drive to increase our training in that direction. As to my hon. Friend's local problem, we already have our eyes on a site at Kirkby-in-Ashfield, and we hope to get going on it quite soon. It should be a help to my hon. Friend's area.

Mrs. Castle

When shall we have the details of the massive expansion of training and retraining facilities which we were promised as long ago as the General Election? We are still waiting.

Mr. Bryan

If the right hon. Lady had listened to the replies over the past two months she would know that an awful lot is happening. Not only are the G.T.C.s being expanded at considerable speed but our drive to get private employers to co-operate with us to let us use their spare capacity is a feature which will grow very much as time goes on.

Mrs. Castle

That is a very interesting reply. Of course I am aware of those answers, but we were led to believe during the General Election campaign that there was a remarkable new plan to be put before us for a more massive expansion of training than ever before visualised in our history. Are we to take it that these little driblets of expansion are the sum total of the massive expansion we were told about?

Mr. Bryan

The right hon. Lady knows from her own experience that it takes time, but with the drive we are putting behind it, I think that I can guarantee that she will not be asking that sort of question in three years' time.