10:30 am
John Hayes (Shadow Minister, Innovation, Universities and Skills; South Holland and The Deepings, Conservative)
I welcome you to the Chair, Mrs. Humble, and we look forward to your firm but fair leadership—that mix of sagacity and benevolence for which you are famous.
In contrast, I will now turn to the Ministers. The Bill was described in one of our evidence sessions last week as a “bureaucratic muddle” and a “mixed bag” by employer representatives, and I am sure that those words are still ringing in the ears of Ministers. Professor Alan Tuckett from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education described it as “a missed opportunity.” At a time when employers and education providers must be deregulated in order to respond effectively to the economic crisis, does not the Bill simply tie their hands? When people are coming out with such robust and clear criticisms, do Ministers ignore them or take stock of them and respond? Does replacing the Learning and Skills Council with three bodies really improve the capacity of employers and employees to survive the economic downturn?