HC Deb 15 June 2004 vol 422 cc907-8W
Sandra Gidley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Learning and Skills Council on its recent decision to withdraw funding from adult learning courses which are not vocational. [177570]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

I have discussed with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) its overall funding position for 2004–05. Adult learning funding through further education and our support for adult education services will continue to provide a wide range of learning from approved vocational qualifications to community based informal learning. As part of the normal annual planning cycle local LSCs discuss with learning providers the mix of provision that is required to meet the needs of local communities, learners and employers. Where there is a need for more vocational provision to meet the needs of learners and employers I would expect local LSCs and learning providers to re-direct resources to meet those priorities.

Ms Walley

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public funding has been spent on adult(a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Stoke-on-Trent North in each year since 1997. [177639]

Mr. Ivan Lewis

The estimated total spend on "Skills For Life" (the Government's strategy for literacy, language and numeracy needs of all post-16 learners from pre-entry level up to and including level 2) and on Key Skills (essential skills of communication, application of number and information technology), from April 2001 to July 2003, in the Staffordshire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area is set out in the following table.

£000
Basic skills Key skills
April 2001 to July 20011 2,341 788
August 2001 to July 2002 3,123 1,006
August 2002 to July 2003 4,899 2,063
1 The figures for April to July 2001 include costs incurred from August 2000 on learning aims continuing into April 2001.

From the information available to the LSC it has not been feasible to obtain estimates at constituency level or separate figures by subject without incurring disproportionate cost. Likewise it has not been feasible to obtain comparable figures for periods before April 2001 when the Skills for Life strategy was launched and the LSC was formed, but information shows it was considerably less than at present.