§ Mr. Michael Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he has had drawn to his attention page 1 of Edition 76, January 1981 of Transport Training, the 87W newspaper of the Road Transport Industry Training Board; whether this publication is in receipt of any public funds; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter MorrisonI have seen Edition 76 ofTransport Training.
Most industrial training boards publish similar newspapers as a means of conveying information about training matters. Neither my Department nor the Manpower Services Commission exercises editorial control over the contents of such publications. The cost of their production is part of the operating costs of the industrial training boards which are currently met from public funds—subject to cash limits—although in the case of Transport Training some paid advertisements partially offset the cost.
Exchequer funding of the operating costs of industrial training boards has not worked well, and the Employment and Training Bill currently before the House seeks to permit boards once more to use money derived from levy on employers to pay for these costs.
The article on page 1 of Edition 76 of Transport Training, which was about Government policy on industrial training arrangements, consisted of legitimate comment on a matter of public concern.