§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister on what dates he has received written representations from the Secretary of State for Education and Employment about the skills audit. [28954]
The Deputy Prime MinisterThe Secretary of State and I have worked together closely on the audit since it was announced in the last competitiveness White Paper.
§ Mr. ByersTo ask the Deputy Prime Minister, pursuant to his answer of 7 May,Official Report, column 113, which department is responsible for conducting the skills audit; with which countries the United Kingdom's skills level and performance will be compared; if it will include consideration of the performance of the Untied Kingdom schools system; and if he will make a statement. [28943]
The Deputy Prime MinisterThe skills audit has been conducted by an ad hoc interdepartmental group under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Office, with the support of a Department for Education and Employment chaired working group. The remit of the audit was to examine the408W UK's performance at the level of basic qualifications for employment and to compare it with those of our leading competitors. It will be published in the summer in parallel with the third competitiveness White Paper.