NIACE response to Spending Review Friday, October 29, 2010 - 10:00

In response to the Spending Review announcement, Alan Tuckett, NIACE's Chief Executive, said:

"When the government was elected, Ministers in BIS announced that adult and community learning was one of their three priorities. While the Comprehensive Spending Review makes sobering reading, it shows that whilst other adult learning opportunities are under pressure, Ministers have done well by adult and community learning, by maintaining the safeguard with no reduction. NIACE is grateful for their efforts during what will have been tough negotiations and we are ready to assist the Department in the challenging work they have ahead of them."

"There will, however, be significant impact on participation from the abolition of Train to Gain. The core issue is how far the changes do produce investment from employers. Employers should replace the money which was being spent on Train to Gain with their own training budgets. In the US, the most deregulated economy in the world, 30 per cent of jobs are covered by license to practise. Why Britain thinks employers shouldn't have an obligation to pay their share, I don't know."

"Although most individuals and employers will have to pay more, the continuation of the safeguard and statement that ‘Spending on adult community learning will be protected and reformed' suggests that pressure from learners and providers has had a real impact. Any reform in adult and community learning will need to secure breadth of curriculum with support to secure access for under-represented groups."

Dr Peter Lavender, NIACE's Deputy Chief Executive, said:

"We will also be asking BIS whether the government stated continuing support for basic skills provision means no fees will be charged. We will also want to clarify the situation regarding support for English for Speakers of Other Languages and exploring with DWP the place of skills training in the new Work Programme."

NIACE Principal Policy Officer, Alastair Thomson, added:

"The overall resource savings of 25% across the department are not spread evenly. The 40% reductions in higher education are eye-wateringly tight and risk a shrinkage of opportunities for adult HE. Offsetting this pain though is the welcome news of a substantial expansion in adult apprenticeships. Similarly, promises to reduce the bureaucratic burden on colleges must be welcomed although the withdrawal of the entitlement to a first full level 2 qualification free of fees for those over 25 will doubtless depress demand. At a time when the demographic profile of the UK is ageing, rationing opportunities by age will not help adults who need to re-skill in mid career or contribute to civic life in retirement."

"Train to Gain was a flawed programme and many in FE could not understand why public money was paying for training that large employers had previously paid for themselves. Although it won't be mourned by many, Train to Gain did however allow workers neglected by previous education and training initiatives, to gain their first qualifications. What's needed will be to try and preserve the good elements into the new SME focussed programme."