Member

We spoke at length in Committee or, at least, the right hon. Member for East Hampshire (Damian Hinds) did —I think we all enjoyed it—about the history of skills education in this country. There have been a number of attempts to create skills bodies to serve Government policy. In preparation for this debate, I was interested to note that when the Conservative Secretary of State for Employment, Maurice Macmillan, announced in 1972 the creation of one of the forerunners of the body, the Manpower Services Commission, he said that a skills training body ought to have direct responsibility to the Minister and the Department of the day. Another point is relevant to policy development in this area: in establishing that body, he sought the input and representation of employees, as well as employers, through the process.