To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how his Department intends to avoid preferential funding by TEC members in organisations in which they may have an interest.

Every TEC's memorandum and articles will contain a clause requiring a director to refrain from voting on any matter in which he has an interest. TECs' plans will be scrutinised to ensure they reflect market needs and they will contract on a competitive basis for training and enterprise services. Furthermore, a TEC will publish an annual report of its performance against its plan.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what progress is being made with the establishment of training and enterprise councils.

I have been very encouraged by the excellent response from employers throughout the country since we issued the invitation to form training and enterprise councils. Applications for development funding from over 50 groups of senior employers from around the country have been approved. A table listing the areas from which we have had applications and indicating their current status has been placed in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what further applications have been received to set up training and enterprise councils; and if he will make a statement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on recent progress with the training and enterprise council programme.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will make a statement on the progress of training and enterprise councils.

I have been very encouraged by the excellent response from employers throughout the country since we issued the invitation to form training and enterprise councils. Applications for development funding from over 50 groups of senior employers from around the country have been approved. The table lists the areas from which we have had applications and indicates their status.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how his Department will assess the competence of training and enterprise council board members.

The competence of training and enterprise councils will be judged by their ability to achieve agreed levels of performance on quality as well as quantity. TECs will also be accountable to their community by holding public meetings and by publishing an annual report. It will be for board members themselves to consider the competence of other members of their board.