HIGHER AND FURTHER EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS: THURSDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2001 ROOM 152, PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS

Present:
Dr Esmond Birnie MLA (Chairperson)
Mr Mervyn Carrick MLA (Deputy Chairperson)
Mr Roy Beggs MLA
Mr Joe Byrne MLA
Ms Joan Carson MLA
Mr John Dallat MLA
Mr William Hay MLA
Mr Roger Hutchinson MLA
Ms Mary Nelis MLA

In Attendance:
Dr Andrew C Peoples (Committee Clerk)
Mr Colin Jones (Assistant Clerk)
Ms Anne Colville

Apologies:
None

Meeting opened at 2.14pm in closed session.

1. Apologies

There were no apologies.

2. Approval of draft minutes of 1 Febuary 2001.

Agreed. Proposed: Joe Byrne. Seconded: Mary Nelis.

3. Approval of draft minutes of 5 Febuary 2001.

Agreed. Proposed: John Dallat. Seconded: Joe Byrne.

4. Matters arising

Members considered a pre-draft notification of a Statutory Rule to be laid subject to negative resolution. The Regulation, to allow new loans for course related expenses and Disabled Students Allowances to be extended to part-time students on open learning courses had already been made in England and Wales. Members asked for officials to brief the Committee later in the meeting.

The response to the Department's draft Public Service Agreement was agreed for issue to the Minister by 9 February 2001. Members noted the detailed PSA Budget figures provided by the Department.

Action: Clerk.

2.25pm. The meeting continued in open session.

5. Matters arising

Members considered proposals to simplify and speed up Industrial Tribunal procedures in Equal Pay cases and the implementation of the Burden of Proof Directive. It was agreed to approach the Committee of the Centre to determine whether separate responses could be submitted, with the HFETE Committee responding on the Industrial Tribunal procedures. Departmental officials would be invited to give a briefing on these proposals prior to finalising a response.

2.30pm. Mr Hutchinson joined the meeting.

The Chairperson briefed the Committee on his meeting with the Chair and Deputy Chairperson of the Entreprise, Trade and Investment Committee, who would be publishing a report on their Inquiry into Strategy 2010 in the near future. The ETI Committee would be asked by their Chair and Deputy Chairperson to agree to forward in confidence any extracts of their draft report which may overlap with the Inquiry into "Education and Training for Industry."

Members debated how the terms of reference for individual Inquiries should be handled in future. It was suggested that consultation with other Committees at draft report stage could lead to a loss of ownership and possible tensions between Committees. However, the issue of potential overlap for both Inquiries and consultation documents had to be addressed. One possible solution was for the terms of reference to be circulated to all relevant Committees, before the commencement of an Inquiry to enable cross-cutting issues to be identified. The ETI Committee's report would be examined in closed session, before the Committee decided whether any further action was necessary.

6. Correspondence

Members noted letters from the Department and the Examiner of Statutory Rules in relation to SR 385/2000 - the Education (Listed Bodies) Order (Northern Ireland). There was no requirement for scrutiny as this had been laid in error with the Assembly's Business Office.

Members considered the Department's response to members' queries on the treatment of maintenance payments; eligibility for free school meals; the number of EU domiciled students studying in Northern Ireland and the eligibility criteria for Individual Learning Accounts.

Members also debated treatment of a number of documents received for consultation, which would be prioritised at the next meeting.

7. Evidence from the Construction Industry Training Board

As part of the Committee's Inquiry into "Education and Training for Industry," the Committee took evidence from Mr William Gillespie, Chairman; Mr Allan McMullen, Chief Executive; and Mrs Lesley Wallis, Head of Strategic Marketing and Communications Division from the Construction Industry Training Board. Representatives discussed the following areas with members:

  • barriers to recruitment to the construction labour market;

  • how school leavers are being informed of the financial awards available in the construction trades;

  • CITB's involvement in the framework design of Modern Apprenticeships and in ensuring the high quality of training provided;

  • the teaching of key skills in schools as opposed to during vocational training;

  • the launch of the "Women into Construction" initiative; and

  • whether the current funding served training needs.

3.25pm. Mr Carrick left the meeting.
4.10pm. Mr Hay left the meeting.

8. Evidence from the Northern Ireland Textiles and Clothing Training Council

Members also took evidence from the following members of the Northern Ireland Textiles and Clothing Training Council: Mr Alan Elliott, Regional Organiser, GMB Union; Mr Peter Frazer, Managing Director, Frazerton Ltd; Professor Brian Hill, Faculty of Arts & Design, University of Ulster; and Mr David Lamont, Managing Director, Samuel Lamont & Sons Ltd. The main areas addressed were:

  • strategic alliances as identified in the recent Kurt Salmon Report;

  • the steps needed to address the perceived image problems in the textiles and clothing sector;

  • the applicability of the Jutland Study to Northern Ireland;

  • new forms of education and training for the sector, including distance learning.

9. Departmental briefing

Members were briefed by Mr Denis Hamill, Student Support Division, DHFETE, on a Statutory Rule, at pre-draft stage, extending certain types of loans and allowances to students studying by distance learning. The Committee agreed to the changes in principle subject to further technical scrutiny at the next stage.

10. Any other business

Mr Beggs briefed members on the "Unlocking Creativity" presentation, which he had attended that morning.

A Press Release on the Select Committee for Education's recent report on Student Access was agreed for issue as amended.

11. Date and time of next meeting

The next meeting of the Committee is to be held on Thursday, 15 February 2001 at 2.00pm in Room 152 in Parliament Buildings.

The Chairperson adjourned the meeting at 4.23pm.

Esmond Birnie

Dr Esmond Birnie MLA
Chairperson, Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment Committee 15 February 2001