A high-level plea to base the West Yorkshire Learning & Skills Council in Bradford has been made by Baroness Lockwood.

The baroness, who lives in Addingham, has called on the House of Lords to support a move to house the organisation in Mercury House, currently the home of Bradford TEC.

Baroness Lockwood, who has strong ties with the city as Chancellor of Bradford University, is also deputy speaker of the House of Lords.

She is among a group of key people who are urging the Government to use Mercury House as the base for the new organisation. They include Bradford South MP Gerry Sutcliffe and Bradford Council leader Councillor Ian Greenwood.

She told the Lords in a debate that Bradford had the strongest case to base the L&SC as it had a base in Mercury House which would be emptied when the TEC closed.

"No doubt Bradford will put in a bid to have the Learning & Skills Council based in Bradford, as will the other districts for their areas. Who will determine this decision and under what criteria?

"The competing districts all have different strengths and weaknesses and different needs from the new structure. I hope that those strengths and requirements will be looked at closely to determine where the local Learning and Skills Councils will be based."

The Baroness was Pro-vice Chancellor of the university from 1987 to 1997 and is a key player in the city. She wanted to know how the Learning & Skills Council would bring existing partners such as the TEC, Business Link, the university and the colleges into the network.

"In particular, I ask this question about the larger local Learning and Skills Councils, such as West Yorkshire. That is one of the largest, incorporating five metropolitan district councils, including Leeds, the second largest, and Bradford, the fourth largest metropolitan district council in England. Three of those five metropolitan district councils have their own TECs and two share a TEC. To take Bradford as an example, the local council and the Bradford TEC have built up a network of local partnerships to work together in the interests of the district.

"How will these partnerships relate to the local Learning and Skills Council? Will the link be made through existing partnerships or will it be made directly from the L&SC to the local authorities and the other individual partners?"

The Government is due to decide next month where Learning & Skills Councils will be based. The new organisations have been set up, along with the Small Business Service, as part of a Government shake-up which will bring about the closure of 74 Training & Enterprise Councils by March 2001.

David Wilkinson, chief executive of Bradford & District TEC, said: "I think the speech was marvellous and another demonstration of the close links and sense of common purpose that exist within this unique district.''

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