§ 2. Mr. LesterTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what plans she has to extend the use of training credits.
§ The Secretary of State for Employment (Mrs. Gillian Shephard)We will extend credits progressively, year by year. Our aim is that, in 1996, every 16 and 17-year-old leaving full-time education will have the offer of a training credit.
§ Mr. LesterI thank my right hon. Friend for that reply. She may be aware that I and another hon. Member originally suggested training credits because of our belief that it was the best way to motivate young people. It gives them a choice: they can choose where to spend their training credits, and those who seek to train must offer facilities that attract them. That is the best possible way to ensure that Government money is spent on motivating young people and seeing that they get the qualifications that are most needed.
§ Mrs. ShephardI congratulate my hon. Friend on his enthusiasm for the training credits cause. More than 35,000 young people have been using credits since the initiative began. About 10 per cent. of the national total of 16 and 17-year-old school leavers are covered by the 11 pilot schemes. We intend to extend those schemes, with a new round starting in April 1993.