§ Mrs. OrganTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the average length of a post vacancy for a further education college lecturer in England; and how many posts are vacant in further education colleges in England. [124176]
§ Mr. WicksEach college in the further education sector is responsible for the recruitment of its staff. Information on vacancies and the duration of posts for further education lecturers in England is not held centrally.
§ Mrs. OrganTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will make a statement on the reasons why the further education sector has been excluded from the South-West transition group for the local learning and skills councils; and if this is the case in other regions. [124174]
§ Mr. WicksThe role of the South West task groups is to collect information from current funding bodies (such as TECs, FEFC, and local education authorities) on the range and volume of provision currently being funded in each Learning and Skills Council area. The aim is to ensure that sufficient funds will be available in each area to at least maintain current levels of provision and to avoid any disruption to learners from the introduction of the new arrangements.
There is no requirement for further education colleges to be represented on task groups since they are not funding bodies. However, a representative of the Association of Colleges is a member of the Regional Transition Steering Group, which oversees the transition to the new arrangements in the South West. Similar arrangements apply in other regions.