§ Mr. WoolasTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the impact on the clothing and textile industry of the proposed closure of the National Training Centre for Knitting Machine Mechanics and Technicians. [81739]
§ Mr. BattleI assume that the National Training Centre referred to by my hon. Friend is the knitting facility at the North Warwickshire college in Hinckley, Leicestershire, which I understand has taken the decision to close its textile faculty based on the lack of support from the industry.
News of closure is never welcome, particularly when the industry itself is under such pressure. However, there are many other educational institutions in the region who provide a high level of training in this area. DeMontfort, Derby and Nottingham Trent universities all offer various forms of technical training in knitting and a centre of excellence has been set up in North Nottinghamshire by West Notts College and New College Nottingham. The impact on the industry of the Hinckley closure is therefore likely to be negligible.