The long-anticipated National Skills Strategy looks unlikely to beat a safe path to implementation, according to the Times Educational Supplement.

The paper quotes Barry Sheerman, chair of the Commons education and skills select committee, as voicing concerns about the direction the skills debate has taken so far. Referring to the publication of the strategy, due next month, Sheerman told the TES the committee would "take the entire (white) paper to pieces and crutinise the whole skills dimension."

Appearing to criticise the way that the strategy project had been worked on to date, following the publication of a progress report in March, he added, "The skills debate has always seemed to be all over the place. We want to look at it in the round and call the necessary people to account for proposals".

Anyone interested in contributing to the debate has until 14 May to make their views heard.