To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of school-industry compacts.

There are 51 compacts in operation in inner-city areas across the country and a further 10 compacts in development. The network of inner-city compacts is therefore almost complete. We have made tremendous progress in the three years since the initiative was launched. As I have seen for myself, those compacts are harnessing the enthusiasm and commitment of young people and employers to help ensure we have the qualified and flexible work force that we need for the 1990s.

I welcome the undoubted success of the schools-industry compacts programme. Does my hon. Friend agree that the links between industry and wider education are equally important? Does he welcome the news this morning that the Ford company's employee promotion programme has no fewer than 20,000—almost half its work force—signed up? Is that not evidence of the sort of improvements in industry and education that can result in a great increase in skills?

My hon. Friend is right about the importance of the links between education and business in the wider sense. That is one reason why we have put an additional £3·5 million into that initiative this year. My hon. Friend referred specifically to the case of Ford, and I have talked to that company about its scheme, which is impressive. Similar arrangements have been initiated in a number of different companies, which is most welcome. One of the most interesting features is that Ford undoubtedly underestimated the extent of the demand for that facility. That shows that there is a latent demand in the work force for education and training, and we hope to build on that.