§ Mr. Roy BeggsTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much funding has been allocated in each of the last three years to each of the schools and colleges in the Western Education and Library Board for the provision of link courses; why such funding has been withdrawn; and if he will postpone the scrapping of link funding until the common formula for funding schools has been introduced. [103333]
§ Jane KennedyThe Department of Education (DE) provides no separate funding to schools for the provision of link courses. Pupils on such provision are counted for each school's funding under the Local Management of Schools (LMS) arrangements.
Schools in the WELB area have been receiving all of their link course provision free while schools in all other ELB areas have paid a fee. The amount paid is a matter for agreement between colleges and schools. The inconsistency has arisen because a separate earmarked fund, resulting from a pre-FE Incorporation WELB initiative for link provision, was provided to colleges in the WELB.
In addition to this funding the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) provides funding through the further education funding formula to assist all colleges to provide and develop suitable link courses. The DEL funding is not provided as a substitute or replacement for any element of DE funding and schools should, therefore, meet the appropriate costs of colleges running link courses for their pupils.
Making separate earmarked funding available to assist schools and colleges in one area of Northern Ireland is inconsistent with the key principle of equity. Consequently, in the interests of commonality and equity, I have decided to make the arrangements for link course provision the same across Northern Ireland and the separate funding for WELB colleges will be withdrawn from September 2003.