§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of the contribution of the further education sector in raising the skills base in the United Kingdom. [2988]
§ John Healey[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The further education sector makes an essential contribution to delivering the skilled work force our nation requires. We are working to ensure that it is flexible and responsive to employers' changing skills needs. The sector plays a particularly important role in delivering the skills we need for craft, technician and equivalent level jobs—skills that are vital to raise our skills base and to boost productivity. Over recent years we have widened participation and increased achievements while maintaining retention rates. We have also seen significant improvements in performance and a reduction in variations in quality across the sector. Nevertheless, we have ambitions to achieve more. We have significantly increased the Standards Fund, to support raising standards in colleges, and we are spending £100 million over the next three years to develop Centres of Vocational Excellence in the sector.
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§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what assessment she has made of staff morale in the further education sector; and if she will make a statement. [2992]
§ John Healey[holding answer 9 July 2001]: The assessment of staff morale is a matter for colleges, as independent employers, to address in consultation with the relevant unions, just as the terms and conditions for staff are a matter for colleges to determine in discussion with relevant unions. We acknowledge that colleges need help to ensure that they have the right arrangements to recruit, reward and retain excellent teachers. Starting this year, significant extra resources amounting to an additional £300 million over the next three years have been made available to the further education sector to reward high calibre staff through our Teaching Pay Initiative, £44 million of which will be shared by sixth-form colleges. The total figure is over and above the annual pay round. In addition, we plan to implement arrangements for FE teachers of shortage subjects to benefit from 'golden hellos' comparable to those already in schools and from arrangements we are piloting to help new entrants to the profession to pay off their student loans.