§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Union Learning Representatives there are within his Department; and if he will make a statement. [88831]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThere is currently one Union Learning Representative in the Department. My officials are working with the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), the main civil service union, on how best to promote the development of Union Learning Representatives within the Department.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the Government's budget is for the promotion of Union Learning representatives in the(a) public and (b) private sectors; and if he will make a statement. [88832]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisThe Government does not have a specific budget for the promotion of Union Learning Representatives in either the public or the private sector. We recognise, however, that trade unions and their learning representatives have a key role to play in promoting the development of learning and skills in the workplace. To help them do this, my Department has provided financial support through the Union Learning Fund since 1988. This year (2002–03) £9 million is available and a further £33.6 million has been allocated for the next three years up to 2005–06.
When it was launched, the Union Learning Fund was a new and innovative experiment, but it has now become an established part of the lifelong learning agenda. It is helping trade unions use their influence with employers, employees and others to encourage greater take up of learning at work and boost their capacity as learning organisations. It has so far benefited over 28,000 people in the workplace through a wide variety of projects ranging from tackling basic skills needs to advanced professional development. It has also led to the development of a new breed of activist, the Union Learning Representative, and has helped to establish and train a growing network which now stands at more than 4,000 learning representatives nationwide.
Union Learning Representatives are ideally placed to help and encourage workers to improve their skills, particularly amongst the very lowest skilled workers and those with literacy and numeracy problems. That is why we have included a clause in the new Employment Bill that will give statutory backing to Union Learning Representatives. It will reinforce the invaluable role that Union Learning Representatives are currently playing in the workplace to promote workforce development and open up new training opportunities for their colleagues.
Any trade union based in England can submit an application to the Union Learning Fund. A prospectus inviting bids for Union Learning Fund projects for the coming year was sent to trade unions at the end of November. This information is also available electronically via the DfES or TUC Learning Services websites. The closing date for applications is 24 January.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether Union Learning representatives will be made available in job centres; and if he will make a statement. [88833]
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§ Mr. Ivan LewisThere are around 70 ULRs working in the Department for Work and Pensions. It is not known how many of these are working in Jobcentre Plus.