HC Deb 05 March 1985 vol 74 cc765-6
7. Mr. Hardy

asked the Secretary of State for Employment when he will next meet the chairman of the Manpower Services Commission to discuss skillcentres.

The Minister of State, Department of Employment (Mr. Peter Morrison)

My right hon. Friend and I have regular meetings with the chairman of the Manpower Services Commission and discuss a wide range of issues with him.

Mr. Hardy

Will the Minister advise the chairman of the MSC that, bearing in mind the good record of skillcentres serving South Yorkshire, they should have a greater rather than a smaller role, especially in view of our unemployment problems, which the Minister knows are great and which, we suspect, will become even more deplorable?

Mr. Morrison

I am sure that the hon. Gentleman agrees that it is better to train as many people as possible with the money voted by the House for adult training. In the two MSC areas that cover the hon. Gentleman's constituency, as a result of decisions on the adult training strategy and the skillcentre training agency, 70 per cent. more people will be trained.

Mr. Batiste

Will my hon. Friend confirm that it is vital to match facilities to needs, that no facilities can remain sacrosanct for ever, and that it is important that they be kept constantly under review so that the best facilities can be provided at all times?

Mr. Morrison

I could not agree more with my hon. Friend. It is important to be as flexible as possible, not least because the need for skill training changes quickly. That is precisely the aim of our policy.

Mr. Heffer

How can the Minister justify closing the Aintree skillcentre, which is in an area of high unemployment and has existed since long before the second world war? As the Minister comes from near Merseyside, is it not a disgrace that he should allow the skillcentre to be closed without making any effort to ensure that skills are developed on Merseyside?

Mr. Morrison

The hon. Gentleman will be aware that I visit Merseyside often, not least because my constituency is close to it. I appreciate the problems there. I am sure he agrees that it much better that approximately twice as many people are to be trained on Merseyside as a result of decisions on reorganising skillcentres.

Mr. Holt

When my hon. Friend next meets the chairman of the MSC, will he reflect on the recent visit of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to my constituency, when employers made it clear that there was a skills shortage in the area, despite high unemployment? In view of that, will he reconsider the decision to close the Middlesbrough skillcentre?

Mr. Morrison

My hon. Friend has made many representations about the Middlesbrough skillcentre and I understand that, but I hope he agrees that it is in the long-term interests of his constituents and everyone else in the north-east to get more people trained, whether by skillcentres, colleges, private training providers or private companies.

Ms. Richardson

Does the Minister accept that there are disgracefully few opportunities for women to train at skillcentres, and that the closure of skillcentres is worsening that situation? He confirmed to the House last year that only 3 per cent. of those training at skillcentres are women, and he undertook to monitor the situation. What are the results of that monitoring? Have there been any improvements, and if not, why not?

Mr. Morrison

I assure the hon. Lady that it is important that women, just as much as men, should get training. As she will appreciate, women in the adult training programme are trained to a much greater extent outside the skillcentre network than they are inside, because the skillcentre network has concentrated on the traditional skills, as opposed to skills that are more appropriate for women.