§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Employment who owns the diving barges used in the courses at the Fort William underwater training centre; what was their purchase price; and what is the current book value.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the diving barges and all the assets of the underwater training centre are vested in the operating company, Underwater728W Training Centre Limited, for the duration of the project management contract and are legally charged in favour of the Commission. On termination of the contract the assets revert to the MSC. The purchase prices of the air and deep diving barges were £45,594 and £1,009,531—the latter includes modification costs—and their book value in the centre's commercial accounts at 31 March 1980 was £41,935 and £621,435 respectively.
§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Employment what loans are outstanding in respect of the Fort William underwater training centre; and what are the terms of the loan agreements.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that a total of £486,468 in principal and interest payments was outstanding at 31 March 1980. These loans have been made at various times since the centre was established. Each is for seven years with no repayments in the first two years; the interest payments in this period are capitalised. Thereafter, equal instalments of principal and accrued interest are payable at six-monthly intervals over the outstanding term. The loans were made available at the Government lending rates appropriate at the dates of issue.
§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Employment why the classrooms, administrative buildings and equipment financed by the Manpower Services Commission at £1.5 million for the setting up of the Fore William underwater training centre appear in the centre's commercial accounts on 31 March at a book value of £867,000.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that all the assets of the underwater training centre were purchased on behalf and with the agreement of MSC. The assets have been vested in an operating company for the duration of the project management contract and the MSC's interest is safeguarded through the use of a legal charge. The assets feature in the centre's commercial accounts as an element in the company's full trading position. However, the notes to these accounts explain that the company takes no credit for the assets which will revert to MSC on termination of the management contract. 729W The current book value of the centre's assets is lower than the purchase price because of the depreciation of the plant, equipment and the prefabricated buildings, all of which have a limited operational life.
§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Employment how many divers have passed through the Fort William diving centre for each year since 1974, and for each month in the current year; and how many were financed by training grants.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that since August 1975, when the underwater training centre, Fort William, first began offering courses, a total of 721 divers has completed training at the centre. Of these, 679 were wholly or partly financed by training grants.
BASIC AIR DIVING Year No of places available No of places filled TOPS Employer sponsored Private Fee payers 1975 20 20 18 — 2 1976 110 107 103 1 3 1977 110 103 89 4 10 1978 110 89 84 2 3 1979 120 115 104 5 6 1980 40 35 33 1 1 Total 510 469 431 13* 25 *Included 6 foreign students not qualifying for grant.
MIXED GAS COURSE Year No of places filled Sponsored by employer Sponsored by M.S.C. 1976† 24 20 4 1977‡ 37 37 — 1978§ 40 29 11 1979 111 90 21 1980 46 30 16 Total 258 206* 52 *Included 11 not supported by M.S.C. (6 Japanese, 3 Norwegian, 2 Dutch). †60% grant. ‡Nov77 80%grant. §Nov. 78 100% grant. In addition to the above figures, which are all completions, there are 30 trainees presently attending courses at the UTC These include:
- 18 Basic air diving (17 TOPS, 1 private)
- 12 Mixed gas diving (all MSC granted)
The number of divers under training at the UTC for each month of the current year is as follows:
730WAs the grant arrangements are different for the two categories of divers the figures are subdivided as follows:
Basic Air Diving and Underwater Working—trained to a depth of 50 metres Fully supported by the training opportunities scheme 431 Employer sponsored, qualifying for grant 7 Private fee paying students 25 Foreign divers, not qualifying for grant 6 Total basic air divers 469 Mixed Gas Diving—trained to a depth of 100 metres Receiving MSC grant 247 Foreign divers, not qualifying for grant 11 Total mixed gas divers 258 These figures are further sub-divided for each year.
731W
Air Mixed Gas 7 January 15 16 7 February 16 15 + 6 Japanese 7 March 20 — + 6 Japanese 7 April 23 12 7 May 19 11 7 June 16 12 7 July 19 12
§ Mr. Prescottasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he intends to seek to alter the contractual arrangements on which the Fort William underwater training centre operates.
§ Mr. Jim LesterI am informed by the Manpower Services Commission that the contractual arrangements on which the underwater training centre currently operates will be reconsidered in the light of the outcome of the current discussions on the future of the centre.