Careers Service In South London

EDM number 396 in 1995-96, proposed by Bridget Prentice on 07/02/1996.

That this House condemns the Department for Education and Employment's privatisation programme of competitive tendering for the Careers Service which, following GrandMet's withdrawal, has severely jeopardised the provision of careers guidance in South London from 1st April 1996; further condemns the preferred bidder status allocated to GrandMet by the Department for Education and Employment despite irregularities revealing the highly inadequate nature of GrandMet's bid; notes with concern that the Department for Education and Employment imposed significantly less stringent guidelines and expectations on the private bid than on the bid made by the consortium of the four London boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, Southwark and Lambeth together with Sainsburys and The Woolwich Building Society; further notes that the GrandMet fiasco raises concerns about the other private companies running careers services with no relevant experience; reaffirms the critical economic and social importance of the Careers Service as a mechanism for preventing skills shortages and enhancing employee potential; urges the Government to take immediate steps to rectify the chaos caused to the Careers Service by its privatisation programme; and further urges the Government to recognise the professional nature of the consortium bid in South London and grant it preferred bidder status forthwith.

This motion has been signed by a total of 40 MPs.