Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he will introduce legislation to enable all boys and girls under the age of 18 years who are employed in clerical occupations to attend day release classes, in view of the fact that release is least often granted to this category of worker, although they show the greatest degree of readiness to attend vocational courses in their own time.
§ Mr. CroslandIn its report published this September the Commercial and Clerical Training Committee of the Central Training Council recommended that industrial training boards should make day release, or the equivalent, one of the conditions of grant to firms providing training for younger office staff. Its recommendation has been brought to the attention of the industrial training boards by my right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour. I believe that in present circumstances this will be more effective than the introduction of a legal right to day release.
Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals are under consideration to enable young workers under the age of 18 years who are not granted day release 116W voluntarily by their employers, whether under an industrial training board scheme or otherwise, to claim a legal right to day release; and on what date he proposes to announce his plans.
§ Mr. CroslandMy right hon. Friend the Minister of Labour has announced that he will normally approve the proposals of industrial training boards only if they make it a condition of grant to employers that day release, or the equivalent, is provided for young people in occupations requiring a substantial amount of training. In present circumstances I believe this to be a more effective way of stimulating the grant of day release where it is most needed than legislation on the lines suggested by my hon. Friend.