§ Mr. WillisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what mechanisms are in place to ensure that further education colleges offer a wide variety of courses; and what precautions are in place to prevent further education colleges from cutting back on certain types of courses which do not contribute to those colleges meeting Government targets. [129144]
§ Alan JohnsonFurther education colleges themselves determine the range and volume of courses they offer, following discussions with the relevant local Learning and Skills Council (LSC). The local LSC is responsible for ensuring that public funding supports a broad offer of post-16 education and training adequate to meet the
449Wneeds of local communities, learners and employers, as well as focusing resources on national, regional and local priorities. Each college is in the process of agreeing a Development Plan with its local LSC which sets out how the college will contribute to the range of needs and priorities over the period 2003–06. Looking ahead, each local LSC is now leading a Strategic Area Review which aims to ensure that the future supply and distribution of courses offered by colleges and other providers offers breadth of choice and high quality to local people. The pattern of provision across a local area, and the precise mix and volume of provision offered by individual colleges, will and should evolve over time. We do not propose to put in place artificial constraints to prevent that. We have made clear our intention that we expect local LSCs to maintain a broad range of post-16 provision for local people and are confident that the mechanisms above will deliver this.