The government’s programme to simplify and streamline publicly-funded business support is on track to meet its March 2010 target.

The ‘Solutions for Business: a Foundation for the future’ report was published today. It is a report on how the Government is progressing towards delivering its 2006 Budget commitment to reduce the number of business support schemes from 3000 to no more than 100 by March 2010.

The most recent information shows that fewer than 200 schemes remain that will need to be aligned to the Solutions for Business portfolio if the government is going to reach the target of under 100 schemes by March.

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The House of Lords EU Sub-Committee G (Social Policy and Consumer Affairs) takes evidence today from representatives of the Learning and Skills Council as part of its inquiry into the effectiveness of the 2007-13 European Social Fund.

The European Social Fund (ESF) is one of the EU's 'Structural Funds', set up to reduce differences in prosperity and living standards across EU Member States and regions, and therefore promoting economic and social cohesion.

When the overall EU budget for 2007-13 was agreed in 2005, it was decided that a 'budget review' should be undertaken in 2009, with a view to informing the spending priorities in the next financial programming period (2014-2020). As one of the largest single spending programmes, the ESF will be an important consideration in the review.

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Gordon Brown has called upon UK businesses to continue to support the expansion of the Apprenticeships scheme as the economy continues it's recovery.

Speaking at yesterday's CBI Annual Conference in London, the Prime Minister urged employers across the country to continue to take on apprentices to help young people in Britain to thrive in the future.

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From the 6th April 2010, 11 million employees in Great Britain will have a new right to request time to train. The new right will work by giving employees a legal right to ask their employers to give them time away from their normal duties to undertake training that they believe will improve their performance and that of the business.

The Government today set out how it will invest in the skills training critical to the recovery and long-term success of the UK economy. The Skills Investment Strategy 2010 -11 underpins the priorities announced in the recently published national skills strategy, Skills for Growth. 

Total Government investment in further education and skills for 2010-11 will be £4.4 billion.

Investment in training places through the Skills Funding Agency is planned to be over £3.5 billion in 2010-11, an increase of nearly 3% compared with 2009-10. The investment strategy sets out how to meet the challenges the skills system faces to train people with the higher technical skills required for the key sectors that underwrite our economic growth, which requires a smarter focussing of resources. Following widespread consultation with the sector, the strategy also reflects the changes required to achieve the £340 million of efficiency savings announced as part of the 2009 budget.