§ Alistair BurtTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and skills what the operating costs were of(a) The Further Education and Funding Council and (b) The training and enterprise councils in relation to their functions in administering the funding of further education in (i) 1999–2000 and (ii) 1998–1999. [17295]
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§ Margaret Hodge[holding answer 22 November 2001]: The total Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) cost of administration taken from its published accounts was £23.3 million in 1998–99 and £25.5 million in 1999–2000.
There were no specific grants paid to TECs by the DfES for further education and it is not possible to identify how much was spent by them on this particular activity.
The Learning and Skills Council has taken over the functions previously carried out by the FEFC, much of what was done by TECs, as well as various activities carried out by the Department for Education and Employment and Government offices. It has also taken on additional activities such as greater involvement and intervention at local level to raise basic skills, and managing a 9 per cent. real terms increase in the overall programme budget allocated to post-16 education and training compared to plans for 2000–01. In spite of this, its overall operating costs (its administration budget this year is £188 million) are significantly lower than the £270 million—£280 million which was estimated to have been spent by its predecessors.