§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment for how long Training Agency staff will be contracted to the training and enterprise councils.
§ Mr. EggarTraining Agency staff who have volunteered to second to training and enterprise councils will normally go on secondment for an initial period of three years. This period may subsequently be extended by mutual agreement between the Training Agency, the secondee and the training and enterprise council.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment how long training and enterprise council contracts will run.
§ Mr. EggarTraining and enterprise council contracts will not have a fixed duration but will be subject to the production each year of an agreed business plan.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if any additional expenditure is being given to training and enterprise councils to undertake new training programmes other than employment training and youth training; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarTraining and enterprise councils (TECs) will be responsible for running the training programmes and business support activities currently managed by my Department. They will be given appropriate budgets to enable them to do this. Additionally, TECs will have a local initiative fund which can be used to finance new initiatives or to strengthen and expand existing programmes and services.
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§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if any contracts have been concluded with any of the training and enterprise councils; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarI expect to conclude contracts with the first training and enterprise councils in early April.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if discussions have taken place with the training and enterprise councils regarding the reduction in expenditure on youth training per trainee week between 1989–90 and 1992–93; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarThe budget available for youth training has been discussed with training and enterprise councils (TECs) as part of the discussions over their business plans. A number of TECs have now submitted their plans setting out how they intend to improve the skills and qualifications of young people in their area.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he has received representations from the National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses regarding the composition of training and enterprise councils; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarThe National Federation of Self Employed and Small Businesses Ltd has raised a number of issues with me including the composition of the boards of training and enterprise councils. The federation was advised that TEC boards and their members must meet the criteria set out in "Training and Enterprise Councils: a Prospectus for the 1990s", published in March 1989.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the estimated training and enterprise councils' expenditure in England and Wales in 1990–91 for the provision of ET and YTS.
§ Mr. EggarThe 1990–91 supply estimate (class VI vote 1, Department of Employment: training and enterprise programmes) shows the planned expenditure for ET and YT. Table 2 on page 13 shows the estimated expenditure for these and the Training Agency's other main programmes by TECs and area offices.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the applications received for setting up training and enterprise councils; if he will list those given development funding including the expenditure involved; if he will list those under consideration; and if he will list the areas of England and Wales where applications are still awaited.
§ Mr. EggarThe information requested is as follows:
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Applications approved Development funding awarded (£) Essex 110,000 Hampshire 149,000 Hertfordshire 110,000 Isle of Wight 85,000 Milton Keynes 110,000 Devon and Cornwall 190,000 Dorset 95,000 Birmingham 139,00 Staffordshire 113,000 Walsall 104,000 62W
Application approved Development funding awarded (£) Calderdale/Kirklees 106,000 Sheffield 138,000 South and East Cheshire 106,000 Cumbria 115,000 East Lancashire 118,000 Oldham 81,000 Rochdale 75,000 Teesside 127,000 Tyneside 136,000 Wigan 94,000 North Yorkshire 125,000 North Nottinghamshire 120,000 Wearside 90,000 Mid-Glamorgan 104,000 Kingston/Merton 111,000 Thames Valley 125,000 Somerset 110,000 Norfolk/Waveney 149,000 Suffolk 106,000 Rotherham 90,000 County Durham 94,000 North East Wales 98,000 Northumberland 92,000 West Wales 110,000 Stockport/High Peak 110,000 South Glamorgan 100,000 North West Wales 110,000 Wolverhampton 88,000 Heart of England 110,000 Dudley 98,000 Greater Peterborough 1— Manchester 150,000 South Cambridgeshire 116,000 Avon 115,000 Kent 158,000 Gwent 100,000 St. Helens 75,000 Barnley/Doncaster 1— Bolton/Bury 110,000 Leeds 120,000 Coventry /Warwickshire 114,000 Gloucestershire 112,000 Northamptonshire 1 Sandwell 115,000 Wakefield 109,000 London East 195,000 Bedfordshire 1 South London 1 Bradford 1 Central England 1 North Derbyshire 1 Southern Derbyshire 1 Merseyside 1 Powys 1 Lancashire Area West 1 Chester/Ellesmere Port/Wirral 1 Applications under consideration Surrey Lincolnshire Greater Nottinghamshire Hereford and Worcester Applications awaited Humberside Central London Shropshire Enfield/Barnet South Thames Wiltshire North Cheshire Leicestershire Inner London North City Brent/Harrow
Applications approved Development funding awarded (£) Sussex West London 1 Not finalised.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the training and enterprise councils in receipt of development funding by(a) those which have submitted operational budgets, including the amount of expenditure involved, (b) those which have contracts approved including the amount of expenditure and (c) those which have yet to submit operational budgets.
§ Mr. EggarThirteen training and enterprise councils (TECs) have submitted their corporate and business plans.
These are:
- Calderdale and Kirklees
- Cumbria
- Devon and Cornwall
- Dorset
- East Lancashire
- Hertfordshire
- Oldham
- Rochdale
- South and East Cheshire
- Teesside
- Thames Valley
- Tyneside
- Wearside
The budgets for these TECs are still under discussion. Contracts will be signed when the plans are approved.
The following TECs are currently in the development phase and have yet to submit their corporate and business plans:
Avon Leeds AZTEC London East Barnsley-Doncaster South London Bedfordshire Manchester Birmingham Merseyside Bolton-Bury Milton Keynes Bradford and District Norfolk-Waveney Central and South Northamptonshire Cambridgeshire North Nottinghamshire CENTEC Northumberland CEWTEC North Yorkshire County Durham Greater Peterborough Coventry-Warwickshire Powys North Derbyshire Rotherham Southern Derbyshire Sandwell Dudley Sheffield Essex Somerset Mid-Glamorgan Staffordshire South Glamorgan Stockport and High Peak Gloucestershire Suffolk Gwent North East Wales Hampshire North West Wales Heart of England West Wales St. Helens Wakefield Isle of Wight Walsall Kent Wigan LAWTEC Wolverhampton
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will outline the guidance given to each training and enterprise council regarding the preparation of a profile of the needs of the unemployed, an assessment of employer-based skill shortages and an analysis of training and education provision in their area; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. EggarThe "Guide to Planning" requires training and enterprise councils (TECs) to undertake a thorough market assessment of their area. The outcome of this assessment will form the basis of the proposals contained in a TEC's corporation plan an business plan.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will outline the guideline given to training and enterprise councils covering the consultations required with(a) local government and (b) education authorities, (c) chambers of commerce, (d) the Engineering Employers Federation and (e) trade councils.
§ Mr. EggarThe "Guide to Planning" emphasises the need for training and enterprise councils (TECs) to actively consult and involve all organisations in their area with an interest in education and training and small business support.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will place a copy of the TEC operations guideline in the Library.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the operational budgets included in the TEC contracts contain premiums for an increased employer contribution to youth training; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarIt is in employers' interests that they should increasingly contribute towards the costs of youth training to ensure its relevance to the needs of industry and commerce. The funding levels which TECs will receive for youth training in 1990–91 therefore assume a rise in the level of employer contributions.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the date for the launch of the first training and enterprise council.
§ Mr. EggarI expect contracts to be signed with the first training and enterprise councils (TECs) in early April.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what percentage of the employment training and youth training expenditure is to be used for performance and incentive bonus payments paid to TECs.
§ Mr. EggarA system of performance-related funding is being established to give an incentive for good and progressively better performance by TECs in achieving objectives. A bonus fund equal to 2 per cent. of overall programme funds will be allocated to TECs achieving specified levels of performance in particular areas of activity.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what provision for employers' contributions to ET are in the operational budgets, included in the TEC contracts; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarIt is in employers' interests that they should increasingly contribute towards the cost of employment training, as many employers already do. Employment training funding levels for TECs assume continuing employer contributions.
§ Mr. McLeishTo ask the Secretary of State for Employment what representations have been received64W from training and enterprise council board members about the level of expenditure being approved for programmes; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. EggarI have received a number of representations from training and enterprise council board members on funding issues. TECs will receive agreed resources to implement their plans and my officials are currently negotiating with individual TECs about the resources that will be made available.