§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a further statement on the sale of the skills training agency.
§ Mr. EggarThe delayed sales of the training businesses at Barking, Southampton and Wolverhampton skill centres (including Telford outreach) to Astra Training Services Ltd. were completed on 31 May. This completes the sales of training businesses to the private sector. Fifty one of the 60 skill centres, plus the STA's head office, mobile training service, sales teams and colleges have transferred to the private sector, providing a network of training provision covering the major centres of population in England, Scotland and Wales.