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Innocent Victims of Government Crackdown on ILA's
A NIACE Briefing
Published: 30 October 2001
1. NIACE believes that the government’s decision to suspend Individual Learning Accounts in England was a sensible one but that not enough has been done to protect the capacity of voluntary and community sector providers of adult learning opportunities.
Once the DfES recognised the extent of the flaws in the system design, it had no other option but to safeguard taxpayers’ money by suspending the scheme immediately. Any lesser response would have only compounded matters.
2. NIACE’s concerns about ILAs have focussed primarily upon the fact that they were insufficiently targeted to reach the least motivated and least well-educated adults. However, we believe that, once the opportunities for abuse have been blocked, they still have the potential to play a role in widening participation in future if linked to other mechanisms such as outreach and guidance.
3. While primarily concerned with the impact of the decision on learners, NIACE recognises that the decision to suspend the Accounts in England has hit high-quality and reputable providers in colleges, charities and community-based organisations along with the unscrupulous and fraudulent organisations at which it was aimed.
ExamplesThe National Extension College, a long-established independent charitable body established to provide distance learning estimates that, apart from the loss of a funding stream, it will cost £50,000 to replace its promotional materials which refer to ILAs as a source of support for study. The Everton Development Trust on Merseyside is a community organisation established in 1992. It has been providing training for over 150 students towards the ECDL qualification – all of whom were funded through ILAs. The suspension of ILAs means that this work is unlikely to continue. |
4. We believe that Government should reform and revitalise ILAs, not simply abandon them.
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Questions for Government
1. What steps have been taken to ensure that the notice of suspension disadvantages no learner who has started a programme? Can government give any assurances to learners about the quality of courses they have purchased through Individual Learning Accounts?
2. What steps will be taken to ensure that the capacity of voluntary and community-sector providers of learning will not be weakened or reduced as a result of the decision to suspend ILAs? Will the government re-affirm its commitment to the provision of learning by community-based organisations as part of its strategies for neighbourhood renewal active citizenship?
3. Will the Department for Education and Skills give encouragement to regional government offices, Regional Development Agencies and local learning and skills councils to offer emergency lines of funding to ensure the continuing viability of high-quality community-based learning providers?
4. Will the ‘suspension’ of ILAs be indefinite? If so, what plans does the government have to offer alternative incentives or entitlements to motivate adults to learn? Will it re-introduce vocational training tax relief? The fact that the programme ‘exceeded the Government’s expectations’ (DfES Press notice, 24 October 2001) should not allow governemtn to imply that there is no longer a need to motivate adults to participate in high-quality education and training.
Alastair Thomson, Policy & Development Officer
NIACE
21 De Montfort Street
Leicester
LE1 7GE
Tel: 0116 2044241.
