Latest News: February 2007

Government joins the debate on Financial Capability

"The launch of the Government’s paper on its long-term approach to Financial Capability marks the start of a debate that has been lacking for some time" writes Howard Gannaway, NIACE Research Fellow in Financial Education.

Recognition of the public’s need for greater financial skills has been recently emerging and there has been an increasing amount of activity to tackle this. A National Strategy for Financial Capability has been developed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) but the majority of activity from practitioners of all sorts has taken place without reference to this strategy and has been characterised by a lot of good intentions but a lack of co-ordinated effort.

NIACE has in the past called for the Government to take a lead on this and - while the new paper does not represent a final strategy - it does pull together the main threads of the debate and forms an excellent focus for discussion.

Firstly, as might be expected, the Government draws a number of identifiable strands out of the activities of the past few years. In particular, it highlights the role of the FSA. Since 2000 the FSA has had a statutory responsibility for "promoting public understanding of the financial system" but which has bravely gone far beyond this remit, encouraging some ground-breaking research and programme development. It also notes that good work has been undertaken in schools, crediting both the charity Pfeg and the Department for Education and Skills.

Perhaps the most significant policy announcement concerns the area of Generic Financial Advice. The Government has been persuaded by the Resolution Foundation - and others - that there is a significant proportion of the population who over the years have been gradually excluded from financial advice.

Now an independent Commission under the Chairmanship of Otto Thoreson, Chief Executive of AEGON UK, is to advise the Government how an independent free financial advice service can be established to fill this gap. (For an introduction to this subject see our specialist website http://www.niace.org.uk/spondoolies/forum/viewtopic.php?t=92 )

The next major announcement is that there will be a cross-Departmental Ministerial Group, chaired by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, to develop, oversee and co-ordinate the Government’s work in this area. NIACE is pleased that its recommendation to the Treasury to this effect has been accepted and hopes that it will eventually lead to the involvement of more Departments in the future.

The further consultation that is launched contains some key and interesting questions that indicate that HM Treasury has indeed listened to the range of views that were submitted to it prior to this paper.

So how should those involved in Adult Learning respond now?

This document is undoubtedly important and NIACE urges all those with an interest in Financial Learning to read the document and make their thoughts known to the Treasury and share them more widely. Some of the areas NIACE anticipates addressing are:

1. What place should Financial Education occupy among the adult population? The Government acknowledges that, apart from the excellent work being done to incorporate Personal Finance in adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy tuition, there is little evidence of sustained Personal Finance Courses per se being offered to the adult population.
2. The Government still has a tendency to assume that the provision of information by its own Departments and other appropriate agencies will necessarily lead to learning. Those involved in Adult Learning need to remind Government that adults need learning processes just as much as children do.
3. We expect to argue that the central position held by the FSA in this process has had a tendency to skew thinking towards an assumption that Financial Capability is only about skills at handling regulated financial products (pensions, ISAs etc) instead of a much wider set of financial, commercial and personal economic skills. Indeed, the Government paper clearly wants to see a link between Financial Capability and enterprise but doesn’t really seem to know how this is to be developed.
4. We expect to observe that there is a case to consider Financial Education as a subject in its own right. It may not be possible for this to lead immediately to securing a place in all areas of learning life but it will help discussion by focusing attention, for example, on whether Financial Education should be included in Skills for Life.

This consultation process closes on 13th April 2007 and we can expect the announcement of a full Action Plan from the Government by the end of this year.

Financial Capability: The Government’s long-term approach (HM Treasury Jan 2007) can be found at
http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/255/72/fincap_150107.pdf

Questions and comments can be addressed to:

Howard Gannaway, Research Fellow in Financial Education, howard.gannaway@niace.org.uk

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“Government plans for jobless to learn English are risky” Says NIACE

Government plans to withhold state benefits from jobless people who are unable to speak English and cannot demonstrate that they are learning the language risk being confusing and ineffective according NIACE.

The welfare Minister, Jim Murphy, will state today that, potentially, there are 40,000 people who do not have the language skills to get a job. He will announce a new programme of support and sanctions from April. At the same time his colleague, education minister, Bill Rammell, is planning to introduce charges for English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) courses in September.

NIACE points out, however, that in too many areas of the country there are already long waiting lists for places on courses in ESOL and insufficient numbers of trained teachers to expand capacity.

Alastair Thomson, NIACE Senior Policy Officer, said:

“We agree with the Government that it is far better to teach people English than to pay out on translation services. But any reforms need to be coherent and consistent.”

He continued, “It would be premature if changes were to be introduced before there are enough properly-qualified teachers to meet the demand and bizarre if we start teaching people while they are unemployed but then do not have affordable courses for them to progress onto once they find work. We need to ensure that once people are in work they can carry on learning.”

“Co-ordinating reforms across government departments is complicated and we urge the Government to ensure that all the implications of these reforms have been considered before moving too quickly”, he ended.

Source: NIACE Press Release: "“Government plans for jobless to learn English are risky” Says NIACE" Released On 12/02/2007

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Every Adult Matters

A first NIACE response to the DfES/LSC paper ‘Delivering world-class skills in a Demand Led System’

The work of NIACE is directed towards an education and training system for adults, which acknowledges the whole range of learners that engage with the publicly-funded system and their needs. We support the government in wanting a system that is not run for the administrative convenience of the supply side but rather in the interests of the individuals and employers that use it. However we believe that, unless amended, the proposals in this consultative document risk jeopardising the government’s skills strategy and its wider commitment to lifelong learning. We urge our members and supporters not to assume the proposals are a ‘done deal’ and to use the consultation opportunity to ensure that the Department for Education and Skills and Learning and Skills Council are left in no doubt about the need to improve these proposals.

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New President of NIACE - Podcast

The start of 2007 saw David Sherlock from the Adult Learning Inspectorate take over the role of NIACE President from Christine King, the Vice Chancellor of Staffordshire University. They talked to NIACE Press Officer Ed Melia and shared their thoughts on being president and what the future may hold in store.

To download the podcast, click on the link below.  If it does not automatically start playing, save the file onto your computer and then play it back through your usual media player.

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Try something new

Learners from across the Midlands gathered in Birmingham on Tuesday the 30th January 2007 where the theme for the day was ‘try something new’ writes Jo Knight, NIACE Regional Campaigns and Promotions Manager for the West Midlands. Alex Nikitas, a professional storyteller and actor, opened the event with a Greek ‘New Years’ story, which geared everyone up for an active and engaging day.

The whole day was structured to allow everyone the opportunity of attending all three mini events which ran throughout the day.

NIACE Programme Co-ordinator, Richard Crabb, lead the introduction to Quick Reads 2007 www.quickreads.org.uk talking about specific stories encouraging a ‘reading group’ feel. All participants were involved in lively discussions about the new titles, the pleasure of reading and the difficulties some adults face with reading, especially if they have never picked up a book before. Everybody left feeling more confident about reading and with a selection of much coveted Quick Reads books.

Alex Nikitas ran his session by starting with another interactive story. The group used the ideas and suggestions he gave them to produce a short piece about themselves to other members of the group.

However the main event of the day was the launch of the new Learners’ Forum www.learnersforum.net . Everyone was taken step by step through the process of how to use an e-forum and blogging – ideal for all ages and for developing IT skills. Beside introducing this great way to share learning ‘conversation’ the group was asked to pop their comments on the site as well.

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Adult Learners' Week Awards Process Continues

The Campaigns and Promotions Team at NIACE are busy collating the (almost) 1500 nominations that have arrived at the office for the next stage in the selection process. Nomination forms will now be distributed for the first shortlisting stage before the selection panels sit to decide on the winners of this year's awards for individuals, families, groups, providers and senior learners.

Award winners will be announced in early May, but in the meantime there are still plenty of ways in which you can get involved. For suggestions, such as organising taster sessions, staff training days, or cultural diversity events as well as examples of the FREE promotional material that is available follow the link below.

> Getting Involved in Adult Learners' Week

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