Industrial Training Levy (Engineering Construction Industry Training Board) Order 2008

I thank the Minister for introducing the orders. My notes, in contrast to hers, are very short. I agree with the Minister that, for us to be a world-class, competitive economy, the skills base in the UK must improve dramatically. As always, the noble Baroness speaking for the Liberal Democrats has made many of the remarks that I was going to make, so that shortens my contribution even more, but I want to re-emphasise some of the points that have been made. Both in construction and in engineering some exemplary training can be found, particularly at level 3 apprenticeships. While there is some sense in consulting more widely among employers, it may become a disincentive for some employers to join the representative organisations that sign up to the pledge of training, which in turn may mean that it is harder to measure how much support there really is for employers wishing to join representative organisations. Can the Minister say what impact the Further Education and Training Act 2007 will have on the way in which the industrial training boards consult to establish consent for future levies? The noble Baroness, Lady Sharp of Guildford, mentioned an explanatory memorandum covering the film industry, stating that an order to establish an ITB covering the sector came into force on 7 December 2007. That arose from work undertaken by the sector skills council in that industry. I would be interested to hear from the Minister about the lessons that can be learnt from that success in building consent for a new voluntary training levy. Are other sectors to follow? Can the Minister shed light on the successes that the film industry has had so far? Can the Minister clarify the impact that the Further Education and Training Act 2007 will have on the way in which the industrial training boards consult to establish consent for future levies? Will the extension of training levies be considered when the Government review the impact of the skills pledge in 2010? Can the Minister expand on the Government’s plan to concentrate more strongly on level 3 skills? Will the focus remain on level 2 skills? Finally, can the Minister say at what point employers are exempt from having to sign up to the skills pledge? I know that the Minister elaborated on that, but it is still slightly unclear to me.