HC Deb 15 January 2002 vol 378 cc211-2W
Alistair Burt

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what her latest estimate is of the overspend in relation to the individual learning accounts scheme; and what impact she expects this to have on her Department's budget in(a) 2001–02 and (b) 2002–03. [26477]

John Healey

[holding answer 11 January 2002]: At 31 December the overspend on individual learning accounts was £62.9 million. This takes account of the total budget available and expenditure in England over the two years 2000–01 and 2001–02. This includes both DfES budget allocations and money that has been recycled from TEC resources. The final overspend, which will not be known until later in 2002–03, will depend upon a number of factors, in particular: the full extent of claims outstanding and bookings for learning that had been confirmed by 23 November; the extent to which claims will be validated after investigation; and analysis by officials and the amount of money recouped from providers who have filed invalid claims for payment.

The final overspend will be met from within the Department's existing resources. The majority of financial activity will have occurred in 2001–02, minimising the impact on the 2002–03 budget.

Alistair Burt

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what investigations are taking place in relation to alleged fraud in the operation of the individual learning accounts scheme with particular reference to(a) the contractor Capita, (b) its contractors and (c) its employees. [26475]

John Healey

[holding answer 11 January 2002]: The Department's Special Investigation Unit has had 86 learning providers referred to it: four learning providers did not require investigation and 82 learning providers are in the process of being investigated. Of these, the police are already investigating 13 learning providers and the SIU is discussing a further 42 with the police. To date the police have made 39 arrests in connection with cases involving two registered learning providers. One individual has been charged.

Investigations into the control and security arrangements that were in place in the ILA system continue and we have engaged consultants from Cap Gemini to support that process. We are working closely with Capita on this work.