§ Mr. Litterickasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what funds are available for training expenditure in the West Midlands through the Road Transport Industrial Training Board apprentice training scheme in the current year; and how this compares with last year;
(2) how many new apprenticeships were sponsored in the West Midlands under the road transport industry training scheme in the current year; and how this compares with last year;
(3) how many apprentices are currently being sponsored in the West Midlands under the road transport industry training scheme; and how many were being sponsored at the same time last year;
(4) how many applications for sponsorship of apprentice training in the West Midlands under the Road Transport Industry Training Board apprentice training scheme have been refused in the current year; and what was the number last year.
§ Mr. GoldingI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that under the normal grant system of the Road Transport Industry Training Board the amount of the levy fund likely to be available for the encouragement of training is not known until the end of the relevant training year in July when a decision on the rate of the levy to be raised to pay grants is taken. Until all applications for grant are received by the Board from individual companies, which is usually at the end of the calendar year, the extent and number of apprentices 391W being trained is not known. It is therefore not possible to make the comparisons requested. Applications for grant support for the training of apprentices are not usually refused, provided that the training is being carried out in accordance with the standards approved by the Board.
In view of the prevailing economic conditions in recent years the Manpower Services Commission initiated and funded a special measures programme to make good the shortfall between the training employers were likely to undertake without additional help and the level appropriate to industry's long-term needs for skills. Under this programme the Road Transport Industry Training Board in training years 1976–77 and 1977–78 estimated that of the 12,000 apprentices annually required to meet future needs 4,000 would not be recruited without this additional help. The Manpower Services Commission allocated funds to meet the cost of 4,000 premium grants to meet this shortfall in each of the two years.
In the Boards Central Midlands area based on Birmingham, 278 premium grants were received by employers in the training year 1976–77 and 239 in the year 1977–78. In the latter year the Board had to refuse 159 applications in that area because they were received after the national total of 4,000 premium grants had been allocated. No applications for premium grants were refused on these grounds in the training year 1976–77 because recruitment was at a lower level nationally.