§ 20. Mr. Nigel GriffithsTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many employment training managers there are(a) nationally and (b) by standard region; and how many have been accredited with providing training of high and sustainable quality.
§ Mr. NichollsNationally there are 1,251 training managers within employment training. All of them are at present undergoing examination for approved status.
The regional breakdown by standard region is as follows:
Number Scotland 233 Northern 148 Yorkshire and Humberside 131 North-West 157 West Midlands 102 East Midlands and Eastern 106 Wales 131 South-West 69 South-cast 76 London 98 National total 1,251
§ 76. Ms. RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether he has any plans to enhance payments to employment training trainees(a) nationally and (b) regionally.
§ Mr. NichollsAt present my right hon. Friend has no plans to enhance payments to employment training trainees. However, training allowances are linked to individual benefit entitlement and so are enhanced whenever benefits are uprated. For this reason, training allowances were increased in April 1989. In addition, the levels of other payments to trainees are kept under continuous review and travel payments to trainees have been increased very recently.
§ 74. Ms. MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are on employment training in each Training Agency area; and what is the drop-out rate for each area.
§ Mr. NichollsInformation on the number of people on employment training in each area office is given in the following table. Information on the number of leavers is not available at the area level.
116W
Employment Training In-Training Figures at 2 June 1989 Numbers Northern Region Cleveland 6,141 Durham 5,063 North Tyne 4,259 South Tyne 6,357 Total 21,820 East Midlands Derby 2,861 Norfolk and Suffolk 3,141 Leicestershire and Northants 2,782 Lincolnshire 1,361 Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire 1,699 Nottinghamshire 3,345 117W
Numbers Total 15,189 North West Cheshire 2,899 Cumbria 1,387 Lancashire 4,220 Manchester Central 4,022 Manchester East 2,590 Manchester North 2,624 Merseyside 8,672 Total 26,414 West Midlands Birmingham 7,374 Coventry 2,682 Dudley 2,889 Staffordshire 3,629 Marches 2,654 Wolverhampton 3,144 Total 22,372 South East Region Berkshire and Oxfordshire 1,212 Essex 1,694 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1,992 Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire 1,672 Kent 1,963 Surrey 445 Sussex 1,761 Total 10,739 London Inner South 3,309 North London 3,553 East London 2,195 South London 1,685 West London 1,197 Inner North 5,815 Total 17,754 Yorkshire and Humberside Humberside 5,253 Leeds 4,295 Bradford 4,540 Wakefield 5,332 Sheffield 5,342 Total 24,762 South West Avon 2,555 Gloucester 1,506 Plymouth 5,541 Taunton 1,868 Total 11,470 Scotland Glasgow City 4,525 Lanarkshire 2,534 Renfrew, Dumbarton and Argyll 2,682 Ayr, Dumfries and Galloway 2,991 Lothian and Borders 3,368 Central and Fife 2,852 Grampian and Tayside 2,583 Highlands and Islands 917 Total 22,452 Wales Cardiff 4,811 Gwent 2,235 Swansea 4,315 Wrexham 3,094
Numbers Total 14,455
§ 62. Mr. DuffyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many people are currently in employment training in South Yorkshire.
§ Mr. NichollsOn 2 June 1989, the latest date for which information is available, there were 9,083 people on employment training in South Yorkshire.
§ 40. Mrs. MahonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many extra staff have been employed by the Health and Safety Executive to monitor health and safety on employment training schemes.
§ Mr. NichollsNone. By virtue of the Health and Safety (Training for Employment) Regulations 1988, participants on employment training and similar training schemes at employers' premises are covered by the full range of statutory health, safety and welfare provisions applying to employed persons. Accordingly HSE inspectors do not, when examining conditions at workplaces, differentiate between trainees and employees.
§ 33. Mr. Jack ThompsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many accidents have occurred on employment training schemes since their inception.
§ Mr. NichollsSince the inception of employment training on the 5 September 1988, 556 accidents to ET trainees have been reported to the Training Agency.
§ 31. Mr. McAvoyTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what specific measures are taken to monitor health and safety on employment training schemes.
§ Mr. NichollsHealth and safety arrangements for ET closely parallel those for YTS. Training managers have the prime responsibility for monitoring work placements, and they are obliged to ensure that premises are properly notified to the relevant enforcing authority, that proper insurance arrangements are available and that, in general, there is appropriate health and safety management and supervision. Training managers are also required to report and investigate accidents; to provide relevant literature, including the new booklet "Safety First in Employment Training", and to arrange for proper induction and training in health and safety matters.
The Training Agency's own staff conduct monitoring of all these requirements, by sample visits to training managers to check records and documents. They also visit work experience premises on a sample basis.