§ Mr. Beaumont-Darkasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on his plans for the disposal of the assets of the industrial training boards that are to be abolished.
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§ Mr. Peter MorrisonAs my right hon. Friend made clear on 16 November, the assets of these boards will be applied to meet wind-up costs and operating costs in 1982–83.
It has, however, been agreed that assets of particular value to training, such as training books, materials or equipment may be made available free of charge to support future training. The future of the training centres run by certain boards that are to be abolished is being considered carefully; where they are to continue to be used for training purposes, we will be prepared to consider transferring them to their new owners without charge or at less than fully commercial terms.
In the case of boards which have a surplus of cash after winding-up and operating costs and other obligations have been met, we are prepared to consider proposals to use the cash to promote training in the industry.