Mr. Edward M. Taylorasked the Minister of Transport what progress has been made in the discussions between British Railways and the unions concerned regarding the retraining of redundant tradesmen of the boilermaker 120W and kindred trades in British Railways workshops to make good shortages of electricians, fitters and other skilled trades.
§ Mr. SwinglerThe British Railways Board informs my right hon. Friend that within the framework of national agreements covering the retraining of all categories of staff, specific arrangements for particular groups facing redundancy are discussed locally at each works. The Board tells her that no discussions about retraining of the kind indicated by the hon. Member are taking place at present.