§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for Industry what consideration has been given to devising less costly methods of effectively and efficiently training staff; and weather consideration will now be given to the use of printed material and correspondence courses instead of residential confirences.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldMy Department continually endeavours to ensure that the most cost-effective methods are used in the training of its staff, including self-instruction in appropriate circumstances.
§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many staff training conferences have been planned by his Department for the foreseeable future; what is the planned subject for discussion at each of them; where they are to be held; and what is the estimated cost of each in terms of (a) travelling allowances, (b) accommodation expenses, (c) salaries and allowances paid to participants for their time and (d) salaries and fees paid to lecturers and course organisers.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldIt is expected that the existing pattern of my Department's training will continue subject to the availability of resources and the need for economy in Government expenditure. The cost-effectiveness of training programmes is kept under continuous review.
§ Mr. Cordleasked the Secretary of State for Industry how many staff training conferences have been organised by his Department during the last five years; when they were held; and how much each cost in terms of (a) travelling expenses, (b) salaries and allowances paid 743W to participants for their time, (c) accommodation expenses and (d) salaries and fees paid to lecturers and course organisers.
§ Mr. Les HuckfieldThe full information requested cannot be made available without disproportionate effort and expense. Courses are mounted in a wide variety of relevant subjects, and the numbers provided by my Department, which also covers training for the Departments of Trade, and Prices and Consumer Protection, in each of the last five years are as follows:
For economic reasons some staff from small Departments—e.g., Department of Energy, Export Credits Guarantee Department—also attend these courses.
1972 … … … … 794 1973 … … … … 388 1974 … … … … 357 1975 … … … … 447 1976 … … … … 459 Travelling expenses, allowances to participants, accommodation expenses and salaries and fees paid to lecturers and course organisers are all within the limits laid down in the appropriate Civil Service regulations.
For statistical purposes Civil Service training is categorised under the following four headings: Induction, Vocational, Management and Background; and the share of total training falling within these categories for my Department's courses is currently 10 per cent., 35 per cent., 27 per cent. and 28 per cent. respectively.