Your report "M&E skills levy plan under threat" (3 February) inaccurately states that the government is rethinking the wisdom of the levy systems as a result of a decline in support for the CITB-ConstructionSkills levy.

The real issue is that the mechanism for demonstrating industry support for the levy is out of date. To retain the levy we have to show the government, on an annual basis, that more than half of employers liable to pay it support it. We do this by consulting with consensus federations. We have 100% support from these federations, but they now account for only 50.2% of employers in the industry - a reflection of the declining numbers of employers becoming federation members rather than a lack of support for the levy system.

In fact, independent research shows that 72% of industry employers support the continuation of the levy/grant. Furthermore, at the levy debate in the House of Commons on 1 February there was unanimous cross-party support for the levy and a commitment from Phil Hope, the minister for skills, to review how industry support is demonstrated in the future so the system is not put at risk.

John Cowley, corporate services director, CITB-ConstructionSkills

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