§ Mr. HarrisTo ask the Secretary of State for Education, if the Government have concluded their review of the adult literacy and basic skills unit; and if she will make a statement.
§ Mr. BoswellThe Government have concluded their review of the adult literacy and basic skills unit. I am writing today to the chairman of ALBSU, Mr. Peter Davis, to inform him of our conclusions.
The basic skills of literacy and numeracy are fundamental to the United Kingdom's future competitiveness. Too many people have inadequate basic skills for the modern world. ALBSU plays an important role in tackling that problem.
Earlier this year, ALBSU published proposals in its document "Making it Happen" that it should be redesignated as a general basic skills unit with a wider remit. ALBSU argued that this would allow the unit to.develop a more coherent national basic skills strategy and tackle the problem of poor basic skills more effectively.
In the light of ALBSU's proposals, and of the Government's review of the unit's effectiveness and efficiency, the Government have decided that ALBSU should remain as an independent basic skills unit funded by the Department for Education and the Welsh Office, but working closely with the further education funding councils and the Further Education Development Agency.
We have also decided that ALBSU's remit should be extended so that it becomes a more general basic skills unit, with responsibilities extending to basic skills training in the workplace, for the unemployed, for young people and between generations.
These decisions represent a vote of confidence in ALBSU. They also demonstrate the Government's commitment to improving the basic skills of the whole population, as part of our broader commitment to achieving the national targets for education and training.