§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list all the agencies currently operating Manpower Services Commission schemes, and name any agency which has intimated that it will not be taking part in the new adult training scheme.
§ Mr. NichollsDetails of organisations taking part in Training Commission schemes are not kept centrally and the cost of providing the list requested would be disproportionate.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what action will be taken against training managers and training agents who fail to meet the performance requirements of the Manpower Services Commission; whether details of such failures will be made public together with the reasons for such a failure; what criteria will be set for the expulsion of agents and managers from the scheme; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsThose training agents and training managers who fail to satisfy the criteria for approved76W status in employment training will not be allowed to continue to operate in the programme. In all cases where the Training Commission rejects an application for approved status, clear reasons will be given to the organisation concerned, stating which criteria the organisation has failed to satisfy. The Training Commission reserves the right to withdraw approved status from any organisation which fails to meet the criteria.
The commission will keep a record of the number of contracts for employment training; the number of applications for approved status; the numbers of applications approved or rejected; and the number of organisations whose approved status is subsequently withdrawn.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether a full list of all training managers and training agents under the new adult training scheme will be made available together with total payments made to each manager or agent by the Manpower Services Commission; and if such figures will be published in the locality in which they operate.
§ Mr. NichollsA list of training managers and training agents in employment training will be drawn up for publication next year. The names of training managers and training agents operating in any Training Commission area will be available locally from the start of the programme in September. Details of payments made to particular organisations are commercially confidential and will not normally be available on an individual basis.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the Manpower Services Commission review of approved training agents and approved training managers will include a report on trainers' adherence to the articles of the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976.
§ Mr. NichollsEach training agent and training manager contracting with the Training Commission to deliver employment training is required to apply for approved status. There are nine criteria on which the Training Commission will need to be satisfied before approved status is awarded. One of those criteria relates to the operation of our equal opportunities policy and includes reporting on adherence to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 and the Race Relations Act 1976.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how he established the balance as between the number of places for project-based training as against the number in the unified training programme.
§ Mr. NichollsEmployment training is planned to provide a total of some 300,000 training places of which 194,000 will offer practical training on projects. This is broadly the same number of project places currently available for participants on the community programme.