| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Mr. Llew Smith: Does my hon. Friend appreciate that, even before Mr. Mason takes up his post, he has lost the confidence of many of the staff because of his background experiences, including the court case in which he is involved in the college that--I believe--now employs him?
Mr. Hain: I hear what my hon. Friend has said, but the fact is that Mr. Mason is taking up his post in April.
We must all recognise that Gwent tertiary college is too important an institution, in too strategically important a part of Wales, to be either under-performing or failing more badly. I assure my hon. Friends that I shall monitor the situation very carefully, and invite them to keep in close touch with the funding council, the college and, indeed, me.
Mr. Öpik:
Is this not a stark reminder of the dangers that have resulted in such a sorry tale, owing to the quango culture that has been allowed to develop in Wales?
Mr. Hain:
There is much truth in what the hon. Gentleman says. My hon. Friend the Member for Blaenau Gwent has made the same point. I hope never to see this situation repeated.
My hon. Friend spoke of the unelected, unaccountable quango, and the state that the Tory Government left. I simply remind him that the National Assembly for Wales will have power to deal with that quango state, to reform it and to address the relationship between the funding council and democratic accountability--and, indeed, the status of further education colleges. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales has specifically given the assembly that power, and it will be free to exercise it. My hon. Friend the Member for Islwyn was right to remind us of that.
Our manifesto gave a commitment to reforming the governance of FE colleges to increase local accountability. It is vital that we secure increased local accountability--in general terms, to bind FE colleges much more closely to the community they represent and serve, and also to ensure that we do not see a repeat of the tragic episode from which Gwent is seeking to recover.
I am now considering how to implement the manifesto commitment. The Welsh Office will make an announcement in due course.
Question put and agreed to.
Adjourned accordingly at fourteen minutes to Eleven o'clock.
| Index | Home Page |