Mr. Ted Fletcherasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) if he will take steps to ensure that no industrial training board will run down its staff or wind up its capacity to provide service to industry in advance of a winding-up order;
(2) if he will take steps to ensure that there will be no winding-up order for an industrial training board until any alternative schemes for performing training in its industry have been examined by him, together with the advice upon them from the Manpower Services Commission.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI shall want to be satisfied that adequate progress has been made towards establishing alternative arrangements before making an order to abolish a board or reduce its scope. I have asked the Manpower Services Commission to take forward the process of 365W abolition or reduction in scope urgently and in parallel with action to establish or develop effective voluntary arrangements. If we are to achieve an orderly transition it will be necessary to run down some of the activities of boards in advance of orders winding them up.