§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport what consideration has been given to increasing the total amount of money allocated to the Government assistance for training scheme for the shipping industry; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinIn accordance with Treasury guidelines, a policy review of the Government assistance for training scheme was conducted last year by my 681W Department. This review highlighted GAFT's success in revitalising cadet recruitment. It did not identify an immediate need to increase the target of 500 cadets per annum for which the scheme has been designed although it acknowledged the possibility of reviewing the GAFT budget to coincide with future public expenditure surveys.