HC Deb 18 March 2002 vol 382 c108W
Mr. Brady

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills if she will make a statement on the progress her Department has made in appointing basic skills specialists to local learning and skills councils. [38855]

Margaret Hodge

[holding answer 28 February 2002]: The Learning and Skills Act 2000 does not specify the detailed composition of either the national or the local councils. This was set out in "The Learning and Skills Council Prospectus" and included an expectation that LSC members would have experience of a wide range of issues.

The Secretary of State's grant letter to the LSC for 2002–03 set out the key priorities for the LSC in 2002–03, including taking responsibility for tackling the woeful legacy of poor basic skills. It asked the LSC to implement a strategy for raising the literacy and numeracy skills of 750,000 young people and adults by 2004.

There is at least one basic skills expert working for each local LSC but this does not imply expertise at council level.