HC Deb 28 March 1996 vol 274 c723W
Mr. Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, pursuant to table 4.08 of his departmental report, what assessment he has made of the principal reasons for the fall in the numbers of school leavers obtaining NVQs levels 1 to 4 in his forecast outturn for 1995–96 relative to(a) the plans for 1995–96 and (b) the 1994–95 actual outturn. [23384]

Mr. Hague

Table 4.08 reports achievements in youth training. In 1995–96, the first full year of modern apprenticeships, significant numbers of young people have converted from YT to MA to aim for higher levels of NVQ attainment. In future years there should be relatively few such conversions. It is not possible at this stage to assess with accuracy how far this one-off factor has affected the 1995–96 NVQ/leaver ratio.