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Further Education and Training Bill [HL]

Let me first confirm to the noble Baroness that this clause does not enable the imposition of levies in addition to those that can already be imposed under the Industrial Training Act 1982. The clause amends Section 11 of that Act to enable industrial training boards to demonstrate support for the levy proposals in a manner that retains a strong accountability but reflects the makeup of today's business community. Currently, Section 11 of the 1982 Act requires that, where the amount of the levy payable by any employer will exceed a specified level, the Secretary of State must be satisfied that one of three conditions is met. The first of these three conditions is that the board has industry consensus for its levy proposals. However, the board can only show this consensus by consulting organisations such as employer federations and trade associations that represent employers in their industries who are likely to be liable to pay the levy. The two current industrial training boards, the Construction Industry Training Board and the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board, have expressed concern that, over the past 25 years, more employers are choosing not to join these organisations. Assuming that that continues, without changes to the current system, there is a real risk that the ITBs will not be able to demonstrate support, despite the 2006 CITB survey of employers in the construction industry showing that 70 per cent of employers who are not federation members support the continuation of the levy. The current legislation recognises these organisations as the only means for the boards to demonstrate employer support for their levy proposals. The support for levies is not declining; the means by which that support is measured has become outdated. However, even with the amendment, ITBs will continue to have to demonstrate that more than half of the employers, both by value of levy to be paid and by number, support the proposals that they wish to implement, if these are to be implemented on the basis of industry consensus. Clause 23 broadens the means by which an ITB can demonstrate that it has such a consensus. It will also enable the Secretary of State to make provision in regulations setting out reasonable steps that an ITB may take for this purpose. The Government have made available a draft set of indicative regulations which illustrate the likely types of such steps. The changes will not prevent an industrial training board consulting any organisation such as a trade federation which is authorised to speak on behalf of its members who are likely to pay the levy. Rather, they will enable it to seek the views of employers by other means including, for example, the use of sampling or approaching employers directly. It will be for the industrial training boards to choose the consultation process that best suits the needs of its industry, and in all cases the Secretary of State will need to be satisfied that the process followed by the board is reasonable. On the basis of those assurances, I hope that the noble Baroness will be satisfied.