Commentary Part 3: Industrial Training Levies Sections 24 and 25: Amendments to the Industrial Training Act 1982.Levy proposals
105.Section 24 amends section 11 of the Industrial Training Act 1982 (“the 1982 Act”).
106.The 1982 Act would, but for the amendments made by this Act, require an Industrial Training Board (ITB) to demonstrate that a levy proposal has the support of organisations representing more than half the employers who are likely to be liable for levy payments and organisations representing employers who together are likely to pay more than half the total amount of levy payable, before the Secretary of State imposes that levy on the industry. These representative organisations have traditionally taken the form of employer federations and trade associations. However, an increasing proportion of employers no longer choose to be members of such organisations. Without the amendments made by this Act, it would continue to be difficult for ITBs to demonstrate support for a levy among employers within their industry, even where this support exists.
107.This section amends the 1982 Act to allow support for levy proposals to be demonstrated by consulting more widely with employers, whether or not they are members of representative organisations. It allows the Secretary of State to make regulations about the detail of how support for levy proposals is to be demonstrated, including allowing a sample of employers to be consulted.