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• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

I would be interested in the panel's view of the findings of the Joseph Rowntree Trust that said that £4-5 billion per annum is going to be needed from the Government in order to reach the targets. That just seems such an extraordinarily large figure, I would be interested to know how the panel felt about that.

• Question by: Dee Doocey
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

So, are you saying that you don't think that much money is needed?

• Question by: Peter Hulme Cross
• Meeting date: 19 July 2006

Mr Faulkner and panel, going back to your opening remarks, I very much concur with what you said, because it squares with my own personal experience. The businesses are prepared to invest in training of their staff when things are prosperous; when things are not so prosperous they cut back, and training is one of the first things to go. At the moment we have a situation in London where unemployment is rising, where the closure of small businesses, according to the VAT figures, is actually more than those businesses which are opening, so, we seem to be in a...