HC Deb 27 May 2004 vol 421 cc1821-2W
Mrs. Humble

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what public funding has been spent on adult(a) literacy and (b) numeracy in Blackpool North and Fleetwood in each of the last five years. [176146]

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 Lancashire Learning and Skills Council (LSC) area is set out in the table as follows:

£000
Basic skills Key skills
April 2001 to July 20011 3,370 1,270
August 2001 to July 2002 6,577 1,857
August 2002 to July 2003 7,815 1,948
1The 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.