§ Ms ShipleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on his Department's initiatives for adult education in(a) the West Midlands, (b) Stourbridge and (c) the United Kingdom. [31841]
§ Dr. HowellsMy right hon Friend the Secretary of State set out his proposals for adult education in England in his Green paper, The Learning Age, published on 25 February. My right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, who are responsible for education and training policy in these parts of the United Kingdom, are taking forward the Government's adult learning agenda in their countries.
At the local level in England, the responsibility for securing adequate further education was divided between the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) and local education authorities (LEAs) under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
In Stourbridge, as elsewhere, my right hon. Friend wishes to encourage sensible local planning. In The Learning Age, he urges all local partners in education and training, including LEAs and the FEFC, to work together to develop relevant and cost-effective provision for their communities.