Early day motion tabled by primary sponsor Bridget Prentice (Labour), on Wednesday, 7 February 1996, in the House of Commons. It is signed by 42 members in total.

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CAREERS SERVICE IN SOUTH LONDON

That this House condemns the Department for Education and Employment's privatisation programme of competitive tendering for the Careers Service which, following GrandMet's withdrawal, has severely jeopardised the provision of careers guidance in South London from 1st April 1996; further condemns the preferred bidder status allocated to GrandMet by the Department for Education and Employment despite irregularities revealing the highly inadequate nature of GrandMet's bid; notes with concern that the Department for Education and Employment imposed significantly less stringent guidelines and expectations on the private bid than on the bid made by the consortium of the four London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, Southwark and Lambeth together with Sainsburys and The Woolwich Building Society; further notes that the GrandMet fiasco raises concerns about the other private companies running careers services with no relevant experience; reaffirms the critical economic and social importance of the Careers Service as a mechanism for preventing skills shortages and enhancing employee potential; urges the Government to take immediate steps to rectify the chaos caused to the Careers Service by its privatisation programme; and further urges the Government to recognise the professional nature of the consortium bid in South London and grant it preferred bidder status forthwith.

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Secondary information

Type

Early day motion

Reference

396 

Session

1995-96

Subjects

Contracts for services Greater London Privatisation Vocational guidance Department for Education and Employment Grand Metropolitan

Link

View this Early day motion on www.parliament.uk