§ 45. Mr. SayeedTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many representations he has received on the future of the industrial training boards; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NichollsWe have received several representations from industrial training boards and interested organisations about the future of ITBs since the publication of our White Paper "Employment for the 1990s" The Government believe that the voluntary commitment of employers to independent sectoral bodies will yield better results than regulation based on statutory powers. Independent industry-level training organisations have an important role to play in setting standards and forecasting skill needs for their industries. We shall, therefore, be consulting each industrial training board and the appropriate employers' organisations with a view to drawing up a timetabled programme for each board to become an independent non-statutory body.