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22 May 2006 : Column 1346W—continued
Before answering the specific questions in detail, may I first assure you that the formula by which both the Further Education (FE) and the Personal and Community Development Learning (PCDL) budgets for Derbyshire ALS have been allocated has been consistently applied to all FE and ALS providers across the East Midlands region. Colleagues at Derbyshire ALS accept that this is the case. You will also be aware that whilst overall funding is increasing, resources to fund the FE sector are finite and priorities have to be set. In our allocations for 2006/07, we have therefore asked providers to concentrate core funding on four key priorities that make the biggest impact towards delivering the Government's Skills Strategy.
These are:
Education and training for 16 to 18 year olds;
Young people taking Apprenticeships;
People who need to improve their basic skills of literacy and numeracy;
People undertaking their first level 2 qualification.
Learning and Skills Council National Office
| August to July | |||||||||
| 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | |
The Personal & Community Development Learning (PCDL), including Family Learning and Family Literacy & Numeracy funding allocation for 2005/06 is £4.140 million (this comprises Adult & Community Learning, Family Learning and Family Literacy & Numeracy). The PCDL indicative allocation for 2006-07 is £3.758 million. Whilst the PCDL budget for 06/07 has been safeguarded nationally at 05/06 rates (£210 million) this obviously does not mean that each individual provider will receive the same allocation as in 05/06, particularly since £33 million of this £210 million is within FE colleges and not in Adult Learning Services.
Derbyshire Adult Learning Service also receives FE funding. In 2005/06 the FE funding allocation is £4.1 million, including £230,000 for Additional Learner Support. The Indicative
allocation for 2006/07 is £3.516 million, including £236,000 for Additional Learner Support. In addition, the LSC will be allocating £582,000 growth funding for adult delivery within FE across Derbyshire and the Derbyshire Adult Learning Service, alongside the other deliverers of adult learning across the county, are able to bid for these funds.
In addition to these figures, the LSC is currently discussing with Derbyshire Adult Learning Service the possibility of additional transitionary funding for 2006/07 in order to help manage the impact of the reduced allocations. Furthermore, the LSC has also agreed to support the investment of £405,000 to create a new Adult & Community Education Centre in Bolsover in partnership with the Derbyshire Adult Learning Service, which is contributing £255,000. In the last four years the LSC has also invested over £4 million in capital improvements in the learning infrastructure for Derbyshire Adult Learning Service,
including money to adapt community premises so that they are more accessible for disabled learners.
As outlined above, it is too early to say how many courses and venues will form part of the offer from September 2006 for the 2006/07 academic year - the LSC is currently in dialogue with Derbyshire Adult Learning Service around funding allocations and the proposed mix and location of the adult learning offer for 2006-07.
The following table shows the number of adult community education courses and venues from 1997 to 2005/06. The number of outreach centres increased significantly in 2003/04 owing to the development of several family learning centres, including those within school premises. However the reduction of external funding such as Single Regeneration and ESF budgets in 2004/05 saw a reduction in some outreach work that year.
| Venue Type | 1997/98 | 1998/99 | 1999/2000 | 2000/01 | 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 |
| Courses | 1999/98 | 1998/99 | 1999-2000 | 2000/01 | 2001/02 | 2002/03 | 2003/04 | 2004/05 | 2005/06 |
| (1) Estimated end of year figures |
In terms of 2006-07 and 2007-08, it is too early to say how many courses and venues will form part of the offer from September 2006; the LSC is currently in dialogue with Derbyshire Adult Learning Service around funding allocations and the proposed mix and location of the adult learning offer from September 2006. Although indicative funding allocations have been outlined to the Derbyshire Adult Learning Service, the published timescale for confirmation of final allocations is by the end of May 2006.
The funding allocations for the Derbyshire Adult Learning Service since 1997 are detailed below. Prior to 2000, Adult & Community Learning allocations to the ALS were determined by the Local Education Authority and we have no details of these. The NDTC allocation relates to provision transferred to the Adult Learning Service when North Derbyshire Tertiary College was closed.
Areas of education and training outside these priority areas - such as part-time courses for adults that do not lead to basic skills or first level 2 qualifications - will inevitably feel the funding pressure.
This dialogue will consider very carefully the impact of the reduced allocations on service delivery and will be reviewing what transitionary funding may be available to alleviate the same. As part of this review, the LSC will also consider the progress made byerbyshire Adult Learning Service in its ongoing efforts to review the relevance, appropriateness and fit with key government targets of its overall adult offer. This is in he context of significant increases in funding for adult learning across Derbyshire during the 2006-07 period.
There will also be fee income opportunities which Derbyshire Adult Learning Service will want to pursue to reflect the appropriate balance of contributions between the individual and the state for some of this provision - such as part-time courses for adults that do not lead to basic skills or first level 2 qualifications - and in the light of the increasing fee assumption that will apply for 2006/07
Unfortunately we do not hold information on the number of men and women attending adult courses broken down by parliamentary constituencies within Derbyshire. However, the number of learners accessing adult community education across the whole of Derbyshire in 2004/05 totalled 11,955, comprising 9,577 female learners and 2,378 male.
Clearly this is only part of the overall picture, with a further 87,247 adult learners funded via FE across Derbyshire, an additional 4,673 through work-based learning programmes, 6,584 through the Employer Training Pilot and a further 20,303 engaged on ESF-funded projects.
Naturally I am concerned about the impact of the 2006/07 allocation on Derbyshire's Adult Learning Service, and as I mentioned we will be looking to help ameliorate the effects via the provision of transitionary funding. Verity Bullough, the LSC's Regional Director for the East Midlands and Peter Brammall, Executive Director for Derbyshire, are meeting with colleagues from the ALS to discuss this issue more fully.
I trust that this answers the questions you raised in Parliament but if you require any further detail or explanation please do not hesitate to contact me again.
Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills by what percentage the budget for adult further education changed in each of the local Learning and Skills Council areas between the start of the academic years 2004-05 and 2005-06. [58880]
Bill Rammell [holding answer 16 March 2006]: Our strategic priorities for adult learning outlined in Priorities for Success are to: support adults who lack basic skills or the platform of skills for employability; ensure a wide range of opportunities at Level 3; and, ensure the continued availability of a wide range of opportunities for personal and community development. Our investment in adult learning will remain broadly stable and focused on these key priorities.
The funding allocated by my Department for the Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) major education and training programmes for adults for 2005-06 is
£2,851 million, an increase of £183 million or 7 per cent. on the comparable figure for 2004-05. My Department does not hold details of funding at local level. Mark Haysom, the LSC's Chief Executive has written to my hon. Friend with the information requested and a copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.
Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 19 May 2006:
I write in response to your recent Parliamentary Question regarding the budget for adult further education.
As requested please find attached data showing the movement between the academic years 2004-05 and 2005-06 for further education adult learning, broken down by local LSC area. I have also included data which shows the movement in funding for both youth learning and additional learning support, some of which will apply to adult learning.
These three elements comprise the totality of further education funding allocations which are made to further education colleges and other further education providers. These figures do not however include funding paid to these providers under other programmes which benefit adult learners, for example adult and community learning, and employer training pilots/train to gain.
Each provider's funding allocation will have been determined individually in discussion with the provider concerned, taking account of the provider's performance data and the LSC's national, regional and local priorities. The differing levels of movement in funding allocations will be due to a number of factors, including:
Demographic changes creating greater demand for youth learning in the locality;
Providers' prior performance, in terms of delivering both numbers of learners and the quality of the learning;
Historic levels of adult learning and youth participation; and
The type of learning being delivered, for example, whether it contributes towards Government priorities or supports learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.
Although funding for adult learning has decreased within further education, within the reduced total significantly more funding is now concentrated on priority adult learning. Further education providers should also now receive more funding from the collection of increased fees and from other funding streams, notably train to gain, subject to their ability to provide training which meets the needs of employers. In 2006-07 alone this new adult learning programme has a budget of 230 million.
I trust this information is helpful.
| Percentage Cash Movement | ||||
| Local Council | 16-18 | 19+ | ALS | Total |
| Note: ALS = Additional Learner Support. |
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