Government U-turn
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• The Road Transport Industry Training Board was horrified to hear this week that the Government is withdrawing its official support by scrapping its statutory levy and handing training over to the industry on a "hands-off' commercial basis — only four months after the board was officially reconstituted for a further three years.
For RTITB director general David Barnett, the White Paper presented by Employment Secretary Norman Fowler in the Commons this week came as a bolt from the blue: "We were not consulted before the event in any way. The publication of the White Paper was the first the board knew of the Government's policy," he says. "The board chairman recently received an offical letter reconstituting the board. The letter contained no hint of any changes and it's a matter of public record that the terms of reference in that letter bear no relation to the White Paper."
Barnett recently attacked the industry for its poor