R2-22

Staff Appeal Committees should be strengthened by the inclusion of at least one independent person experienced in grant-maintained schools, or in the education or personnel field more generally, to serve in addition to the school's own governors. Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) and Local Enterprise Companies (LECs) Training and Enterprise Councils and Local Enterprise Companies are unique organisations, being private sector companies set up at the GovernmentÕs instigation to deliver training strategies under contract. In Scotland, LECs have a wider economic development role. TECs and LECs are monopoly suppliers, and there are considerable obstacles to others entering the market. We have concluded that although the Government sees TECs and LECs as contractors, the relationship between the bodies and government also involves an element of regulation and that this should be recognised as such. The regulation of LECs exercised by the Enterprise Agencies in Scotland is more public and hence better understood than that in England and Wales; we believe this should be remedied by giving a stronger regulatory role to the Government Offices for the Regions and the Welsh Office. We welcome the steps that have been taken by TECs and LECs to improve their practices on governance, openness and propriety. When the rules that have been developed and promulgated over the last year are fully implemented, these will, to a significant extent, tackle many of the concerns which have been expressed about the organisations and which have featured in those cases that have been given publicity. Nevertheless we are concerned that the local accountability of some TECs remains weak and we believe that the organisations themselves need to do more to improve and explain their policies on local accountability, governance and propriety.