§ 2. Ms Beverley Hughes (Stretford and Urmston)What plans he has to ensure that the members of the boards of corporations of further education colleges are representative of the communities they serve. [48089]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education and Employment (Dr. Kim Howells)My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State published on 5 March a consultation paper, "Accountability in Further Education", which addresses the matter. Responses are invited by 24 July.
§ Ms HughesI thank my hon. Friend for that answer. May I inform him that, on a recent visit to my local further education college, I discovered that, of the 22 board members, seven represent staff and six represent local schools and business? Another eight—the single largest group—were appointed by the funding council; and of those, only one lives in the area served by the college. The other seven live up to 30 miles away in highly suburban areas, which are very different from the inner city where the students come from. There is no one from a minority ethnic community, despite the composition of the student group, and there are no parental links among that group with the college. Does he think that right?
§ Dr. HowellsI certainly do not think that that is right. We recommended in our Green Paper "The Learning Age" a great deal more accountability for the boards of further education colleges. The changes that we are proposing are designed to assist that process. For example, we shall restore the ability of local authorities to provide governors. Arrangements will be monitored very rigorously by the Further Education Funding Council, and the findings will be available publicly as part of its inspection reports.