§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) on the same basis as the answer given to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow), Official Report, 19 March 1979, column 409, what was the average cost per trainee of secretarial training under the Manpower Services Commission's training opportunities scheme in 1979; and how many secretaries were trained;
(2) on the same basis as the answer given to the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow), Official Report, 12 March 1979, column 12, how much money was spent in 1979–80 by the Manpower Services Commission on training fees and allowances for secretarial training under the training opportunities scheme; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures for the current year.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that 14,792 trainees completed secretarial training in 1979–80 on courses under the MSC's training opportunities scheme. Costs for secretarial courses are not collected separately, but the estimated average cost in training fees and allowances for each of these trainees was £1,217. It is not possible to attribute an overhead cost to these trainees. It is estimated that the expenditure on training fees and allowances for secretarial training under TOPS was £18.003 million in 1979–80 and will be £17.496 million in 1980–81—both at outturn prices.