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Skill Centres

Volume 175: debated on Monday 2 July 1990

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To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list the skill centres which are to be closed as training businesses and sold, giving (a) the valuation of and its assets sold, (b) the number of expressions of interest received and (c) the income likely to be received from successful purchasers.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: The centres to be closed by my Department as training businesses are Chelmsford, Chesterfield, Northampton, Portsmouth, Reading, Twickenham and Letchworth, excluding the gas safety training business purchased by Mr. J. James, which is due to be relocated.With the exception of Chesterfield, where the property will revert to the landlord, the Government's property interests in these centres will shortly be marketed. It would be prejudicial to the sale to give the valuation of the assets or to reveal the number of expressions of interest. The equipment at the closed centres is being sold by auction over the next few weeks and for commercial reasons it is not possible to reveal valuations at this stage.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether the new pension arrangements of all civil servants involved in the privatisation of the Skills Training Agency and skill centres are compatible with the civil service pension scheme.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: The pension arrangements of the purchasers of the Skills Training Agency were all subject to an independent assessment by the Government Actuary's Department. The assessment concluded that the respective arrangements are broadly comparable to those of the principal civil service pension scheme and hence met the undertaking given by the then Secretary of State when the sale was announced.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if companies or individuals who had unsuccessfully bid for any or all of the skill centres were contacted about the further sale of Lambeth skills centre after 19 February.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: No. The only organisation interested in Lambeth at the final offer stage, other than one bidder interested in a very large network, was The Training Business.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what is the total expenditure involved in the payment to Astra Training Services Ltd. for the acquisition of skill centres and other Skills Training Agency facilities.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: The sale of the training businesses at 45 skill centres plus the Skills Training Agency head office, mobile training service, sales teams and colleges to Astra Training Services Limited involved a payment from the Government to Astra of some £10·7 million.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list (a) the skill centres and (b) the type of assets covered by the clawback procedures.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: Clawback will apply to the freehold and long leasehold properties acquired by Astra Training Services Limited. These are skill centre premises at:

  • Barking
  • Basildon
  • Bellshill
  • Billingham
  • Birmingham
  • Bradford
  • Bristol
  • Cheshire
  • Dundee
  • Durham
  • Enfield Annex
  • Gloucester
  • Gwent
  • Hillington
  • Hull
  • Irvine
  • Manchester
  • Medway
  • Milton Keynes
  • North Staffordshire
  • Norwich
  • Peterborough
  • Plymouth
  • Preston
  • Redruth
  • Rochdale
  • Sheffield
  • Southampton
  • Tyneside
  • West Glamorgan
  • West Sussex
  • Wigan
  • Wrexham

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if the Lakin Consortium put in bids, prior to 19 February, for any skill centres.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: Yes. An indicative bid was received from the consortium headed by Mr. Lakin by the Government's sale advisers and it was placed on a shortlist of potential purchasers in mid-November 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will estimate the total income likely to be received on completion of the sale of (a) skill centres as training businesses and (b) skill centres which will be closed and held as land and premises.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: The sale of skill centres as training businesses is complete and total income received was £65,000. The Government's remaining property interests are about to be marketed and it would be prejudicial to the sale to give an estimate of proceeds.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if The Training Business Group Ltd. put in a bid, prior to 19 February, for any skill centres.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: Yes. An indicative bid was received from The Training Business by the Government's sale advisers and they were placed on a shortlist of potential purchasers in mid-November 1989.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will list, for each of the successful bidders of the 51 skill centres the conditions covering (a) the length of time training must be carried on and (b) the quality of the training.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: In accepting the offers of successful bidders, I satisfied myself that they met the key objectives of the sale that as much as possible of STA's training business was transferred to the private sector, and that the training businesses sold had good prospects of future viability. I did not impose on any bidder specific operating conditions on the length of time training must be carried on, or the quality of training to be provided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what guarantees of employment training income have been given to (a) Astra Training Services Ltd·, (b) the Lakin Consortium, (c) The Training Business Group Ltd. and (d) METEL for the years 1990–91, 1991–92 and 1992–93.

[holding answer 25 June 1990]: No guarantees of employment training income have been given to any purchaser of skill centres for the current or any subsequent year.