To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what proposals he has to improve training standards in the hotel and catering industry.

Mr. Jackson:

The employers in the hotel and catering industry are necessarily in the lead in ensuring that the industry's standards of training are adequate to meet their business needs. From February of this year, the industry has had an independent, employer-led industry training organisation—the Hotel and Catering Training Company. I am confident that the work of that body will raise the standards of training in the industry.

Many hotels that purport to offer three, four or five-star service are failing to employ adequately trained staff to fulfil certain basic functions, such as porters to carry bags, waiters to carry food and banqueting staff with an understanding of banqueting. Will my hon. Friend ensure that national vocational qualifications in the United Kingdom produce staff of comparable or better quality than those being produced in the catering industries of Germany and France?

Mr. Jackson:

I hope that my hon. Friend has not had an unfortunate experience. It sounds as though there might be some personal background to his remarks. The Government's responsibility does not extend as far as my hon. Friend wants. We are responsible for the National Council for Vocational Qualifications, which has developed a vocational standard called Caterbase. It is a good standard, which has been developed and widely taken up.

May I make a practical suggestion? My hon. Friend is fortunate in having, as a member of his local Gloucestershire TEC, Mrs. Sam Elliott, who is the proprietor of the Grapevine hotel in Stow-on-the-Wold. She won a national training award last year and she is also a member of the national training task force. I suggest that my hon. Friend has a word with her.