§ Mr. Bill WalkerTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what representations he has received about the future funding of further education colleges.
§ Mr. LangI have received a number of representations since I announced on 21 March the Government's intention to introduce legislation to transfer the funding of further education colleges from local to central Government from 1 April 1993. 1 have presented to Parliament today a White Paper, "Access and Opportunity" (Cm. 1530), which sets out our proposals in more detail.
Further education colleges are a key element in the Government's education and training policies. Our policies have achieved much over the last decade, including the reform of vocational qualifications and the creation of Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the local enterprise companies.
The White Paper builds on these achievements with further measures to stimulate participation and to improve opportunities and access. We propose to extend the training credit scheme to permit local enterprise companies to develop solutions to suit their areas taking account of the experience gained from the pilots that are presently under way. Local enterprise companies will be invited to submit bids for local schemes to operate training credits in their locality from April 1993. The aim will be to extend the coverage of training credits to include a further 10 per cent. of 16 and 17-year-olds leaving full-time education in Scotland. Our further aim is to extend credits progressively year by year to ensure that by 1996, within the lifetime of the next Parliament, every young person in Scotland who leaves full-time education will be able to have a training credit.
An important theme of the Government's education and training priorities has been the need to foster close links between employers and the education system. Local enterprise companies have already made it clear that improved links between education and business are one of their key objectives. The compact initiative, which currently operates in urban partnership areas, is a means of developing links between education and employment. It will be extended outwith the urban partnership areas.
Raising skills levels of the work force and of those qualifying with relevant and worthwhile qualifications is necessary if we are to match the skill of our economic competitors. The SCOTVEC system of vocational qualifications is now well established and is continuing to develop with the reforms of advanced courses and the recent introduction of Scottish vocational qualifications. SVQs are an important part of the system and are based upon competence to undertake a particular job. However, there is a need for a range of more broadly based qualifications to be developed. Accordingly, I will be inviting SCOTVEC to develop such qualifications within the SVQ framework. This will open up more opportunities for people to prepare themselves for a range of occupations and for entry to higher education.
As now, half the members of college councils will be employers, but in future councils will employ their own 374W staff and control and manage assets. They will be given maximum freedom to be responsive to the needs of industry and students. In funding the colleges I will seek to achieve an appropriate balance between rewarding those colleges which perform better than others and achieving the financial stability necessary during a period of structural change.
The second White Paper, "Higher Education—a new framework", (Cm 1541), which I have also presented to Parliament today with my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science and my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Northern Ireland will further enhance this policy. One of the Government's major achievements has been to secure sufficient places in higher education for the flow of young people who have the intellectual competence, motivation and maturity to benefit from it and who wish to do so. Our policies have helped to secure record levels of participation. Our higher education White Paper commits us to yet further expansion and increased access in higher education.
The policies set out in the White Papers will lead to a more skilful and prosperous Scotland. Taken together, they represent a major advance for tertiary education and training. The challenges that lie ahead are great. So are the opportunities.