CBI claims employers would be unaffected if Department of Trade and Industry was axed

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) could be abolished without having any significant impact on employers, according to the president of employers body the CBI.

Martin Broughton, who is also chairman of British Airways, told the Times that, due to constant ministerial changes, the government had not dealt with the DTI "as a serious department".

Since 1997, there have been six secretaries of state and several dozen DTI ministers.

Broughton said the DTI’s abolition would be supported by the CBI as long as its key responsibilities were delegated to other departments.

“Departments are used as stepping stones, training grounds for people who are not up to the job,” Broughton said.