§ Mr. CarmichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions what impact(a) the Support for Maritime Training Scheme and (b) the Tonnage Tax have had on the training and employment of British seafarers, and by what performance indicators that impact is measured. [44053]
§ Mr. JamiesonSince the introduction of the Support for Maritime Training scheme (SMarT) in 1998, approximately 480 cadets a year have received training under the scheme. The forecast for the financial year 2001–02 is 500. In addition a significant of seafarers were also involved in gaining second Certificates of Competency or revalidations.
To date, 58 groups of companies, including the 50 approved by the Inland Revenue for entry into tonnage tax, have received approval by the DTLR of their training commitments. This equates to about 508 training places.