§ Mr. BoswellTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if he will define(a) the future role of the Employment Service in providing work-based training for adults and (b) its relationship with the Learning and Skills Council. [155864]
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§ Ms Jowell[holding answer 28 March 2001]: From April work-based learning for adults, which is a programme designed to help unemployed people into work by equipping them with appropriate skills, becomes the responsibility of the Employment Service (ES). This transfer of responsibility will help achieve greater integration with the rest of the Welfare-to-Work agenda, and particularly the New Deal. The role of the ES will include contracting for, monitoring and evaluating the programme.
The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) will become fully operational from 2 April 2001. It will be responsible for planning, funding and improving the quality of all post-16 learning up to university level, focusing particularly on providing the skills needed in the labour market. The LSC and the Employment Service will work together at national and local levels to plan provision for unemployed people to get the skills and qualifications they need to find and stay in work. The ES and LSC will share a common approach on such issues as the quality framework and inspection which will help reduce the burdens on training providers.
More information is available in a number of publications issued to date about the role of the LSC, including the "Learning to Succeed" White Paper, the Learning and Skills Council Prospectus and the LSC Remit Letter. All of these are available via DfEE's website: www.dfee.gov.uk/post16.