§ Mrs. MayTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment of the 1,013 staff employed in the Lifelong Learning Directorate of his Department, how many will transfer to the Learning and Skills Council on April 2001; what budget will be allocated to them; and what functions will remain in the Lifelong Learning Directorate. [142290]
§ Mr. Wicks[holding answer 12 December 2000]: We estimate the equivalent of 90–100 full time posts will transfer to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) from the Department as a whole. As individuals are being given a choice as to whether they join the LSC or not, the number of people actually transferring with the work may be less than this.
We have set an overall administration budget for the LSC of £188 million for 2001–02. It is for the LSC to decide how it uses that resource to achieve the objectives it has been set.
The Lifelong Learning Directorate is responsible for the oversight and delivery of the Government's policies to promote post-16 learning, including: quality and delivery of the post-16 agenda; adult learning and skills; higher education; youth policy; qualifications and the Connexions strategy.