HC Deb 22 October 2001 vol 373 cc35-6W
Miss McIntosh

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the role is of the Learning and Skills Council in the provision of post-16 education.[8151]

Margaret Hodge

The role of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is to plan, fund, monitor and improve the quality of post-16 learning up to higher education. We expect the LSC to encourage more young people to stay in learning; increase demand for learning among adults; and improve the skills of the work force. We also expect it to drive up standards in teaching, learning and training and to build equality of opportunity into everything it does.

Mr. Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will list the ratio of administrative staff to teaching staff in further education colleges for each year since incorporation in 1993. [6682]

Margaret Hodge

The Learning and Skills Council (and formerly the Further Education Funding Council) collects information about teaching and non-teaching staff employed for 15 hours a week or more over a teaching year. Non-teaching staff data are categorised into "supporting teaching and learning" (Support) and "other support" (Other). 1994–95 was the first year data were collected; the last year for which data are currently available is 1999–2000. Details about the number of administrative staff in further education colleges, or about staff employed for less than 15 hours a week, are not collected centrally.

The ratio between teaching and non-teaching staff is shown in the following table: