§ Mr. SimmondsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many(a) disabled adults benefiting from adult learning initiatives and (b) adults with learning difficulties engaged in adult learning education courses there were in each year since 1997. 163735]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisUnfortunately, we do not have reliable information about the number of disabled people participating in particular Government learning initiatives However, we have measured the participation of disabled people in adult learning in general (including: Government funded learning, job-related training, and self-taught learning) using the National Adult Learning Survey 2002 (NALS).
Overall, 76 per cent. of adults in England (aged 16 to 69 and outside continuous full-time education) had participated in at least one learning activity over the previous three years. Participation in learning was lower among people with a disability (64 per cent.) than those without a disability (81 per cent.).
We do not currently record participation in LEA-funded Adult Education for people with learning difficulties.
However, around 61 per cent. of adults with learning difficulties had participated in at least one learning activity over the previous three years (Source: English Local Labour Force Survey 2001). This compares to 76 per cent. for the general population as described above.