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World Class Skills 2020

I entirely endorse that point. Indeed, I said earlier that we should not see training as something on which the Government have all the answers, because in many ways providing it often comes down to employers. An integral element of the corporation’s initiatives in the year ahead will be the development of an internet-based database that will be linked to the websites of key professional bodies, universities and training providers. That will be accessed through a range of sites, including those of Government and City institutions, and through UK missions and the work of the British Council, in which the Minister has had a strong involvement. It is of course important to recognise that the cluster of international capital and expertise represented by the City is potentially fragile. Global businesses and their highly-skilled work forces do not necessarily have an innate loyalty to the UK. They wish to conduct business where the legal, fiscal and regulatory environment is most cost-effective for them, and where the physical infrastructure, along with the general human environment, best meets their needs. With London as its financial centre, the UK has demonstrated its capacity to attract and retain such businesses. To continue doing so there might be a requirement for public policy changes. Such changes are being discussed as part of the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s initiative on the international promotion of the City. Thank you for allowing me to make a longer contribution to this debate than might otherwise have been possible, Mr. Hancock. The relative paucity of speakers is largely down to the weather conditions, rather than anything to do with the importance of the subject. I am glad that I had a chance to speak a little more generally, as well as to discuss aspects specific to the City of London. I appreciate that the Minister may not feel the need to make any great comment in the latter regard at this juncture, given that some specific suggestions were put forward.