HC Deb 19 September 2003 vol 410 c1138W
Mr. Boswell

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how he will ascertain whether students seeking to access free tuition for a Level 2 qualification have no existing higher qualifications. [129697]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

We are working with the Learning and Skills Council to evaluate the use of existing data systems for checking whether applicants have already gained a relevant qualification. We shall be using the experienced gained in the Employer Training Pilots to assess the risks. The phased introduction of the entitlement provides the opportunity to test that light tough but robust validation procedures are in place.