Written question asked by Lord Swire (Conservative) on Wednesday, 16 March 2005, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 23 March 2005. It was answered by Ivan Lewis (Labour) on Wednesday, 23 March 2005 on behalf of the Department for Education and Skills.

Dept for Education and Skills

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, what safeguards are planned to protect adult education classes that do not teach basic skills.

Answer: Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what safeguards are planned to protect adult education classes that do not teach basic skills. [223256] Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Government is committed to safeguarding learning for personal fulfilment which does not necessarily lead to qualifications. The Learning and Skills Council's budget for such learning, delivered though local education authorities, increased from £206 million in 2003-04 to £207.4 million in 2004-05 compared with £145 million in 2000-01. My Department will shortly be receiving proposals from the Learning and Skills Council on how to meet this safeguard in the long term while ensuring a fair distribution of public funding between geographical areas.

Secondary information