Written question asked by Lord Foster of Bath (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 19 March 2002, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 10 April 2002. It was answered by John Healey (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 April 2002 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to address skill shortages within the railway industry - Inc figure.

Answer: Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps her Department (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to address skill shortages within the railway industry. [45423] John Healey: In October 2000 my predecessor the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Lifelong Learning wrote to the Chairman of the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA) proposing that we work together to push skills up the agenda of the rail industry. In March 2001 a joint working group published the "Framework for Skills for the Rail Industry" setting out a strategy for skills. In December 2001 the working group published a progress report setting out challenging targets for the uptake of Investors in People, National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQs and SVQs) and Modern Apprenticeships. In February 2002 I announced Government funding of £500,000 for new "Adult Apprenticeships" to be piloted in the rail industry to tackle significant skill shortages. The joint working group will publish a further report on progress in June 2002.

Secondary information