JUST as the government's decision is imminent on the areas which will be covered by the new Learning and Skills Training Councils it is creating to replace the country's network of existing Training and Enterprise Councils, a clear case is made today for leaving alone what works well enough in East Lancashire.

For the East Lancashire Training and Enterprise Council has emerged as the best in the country, beating 73 others and, for the fourth year running, it was judged to have the top scheme for helping young people get work - and all according to the government's own criteria.

This is proven excellence.

So why let ELTEC be swallowed up in a new LSC covering the whole county, as is threatened by the looming shake-up, and lose or dissipate the expertise that has been tailored to East Lancashire's particular needs?

It would be madness and folly to do that.

The government must give our region its own LSC so that ELTEC's excellence remains here in East Lancashire. We have proved we can do it and do it well.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.