Potter,
Just for the record it was the previous Conservative government that scrapped NVQ.
The NVQ system was being heartily abused by flying schools selling PPL courses. I often heard one particular instructor say something along the lines of "How will they ever know you aren't going to go any further than your PPL?"
Diving schools who were selling Sport Diver courses (which were required before continuing on to commercial diving courses) abused the system fairly comprehensively as well.