§ 19. Mr. John GreenwayTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what assessment he has made of the success so far of the training and enterprise council initiative.
§ Mr. HowardI am delighted with the progress that has been made by training and enterprise councils. The North Yorkshire training and enterprise council, which covers my hon. Friend's constituency, is in the forefront of the TEC movement, and I know that the board welcomes my hon. Friend's close interest in its activities.
§ Mr. GreenwayFurther to my right hon. and learned Friend's reply, may I ask whether he recalls that it was the hon. Member for Fife, Central (Mr. McLeish) who said that in setting up training and enterprise councils the Government were proceeding far too fast? Will my right hon. and learned Friend bear in mind that there are now 60 times more training places for young people than there were under the Labour Government?
§ Mr. HowardMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Conservative Members have grown used to seeing the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair) shuffle uneasily in his seat whenever the remarks of his hon. Friend the Member for Fife, Central (Mr. McLeish) are quoted at him.