§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department is taking to support the role of unions in developing skills. [21810]
§ John HealeyTrade unions have a key role to play in promoting the development of learning and skills in the workplace. To help them do this our Department has provided financial support through the Union Learning Fund since 1998. The ULF budget is £7 million this year. This source of funding is helping trade unions use their influence with employers, employees and others to encourage greater take up of learning at work and boost their capacity as learning organisations. It has so far benefited over 25,000 people in the workplace through a wide variety of projects ranging from tackling basic skill needs to advanced professional development. It has also led to the development of a new breed of activist, the union learning representative, and helped to establish a network of over 3,000 learning representatives nationwide.
Union learning representatives are ideally placed to help and encourage workers to improve their skills, particularly among low skilled workers and those with literacy and numeracy problems. That is why we have included a clause in the new Employment Bill that will give statutory backing to union learning representatives. This will reinforce the invaluable role that union learning representatives are currently playing in the workplace to promote work force development and open up new training opportunities for their colleagues.
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