Written question asked by Baroness Warsi (Conservative), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Young of Norwood Green (Labour) on Wednesday, 10 February 2010.

Education: ESOL

Question: To ask Her Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer by Lord Young of Norwood Green on 14 December 2009 (WA 176–7), how much of the £600 million to be invested in Skills for Life in 2010–11 will be spent on providing English language instruction.

Answer: The funding spent by the Learning and Skills Council on English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision in academic years 2005-06, 2006-07 and 2007-08 was given in my Answer to the noble Baroness on 14 Dec 2009, Official Report, col. WA 177. The final figure for actual spend in 2008-09 is not yet available and it is not possible at this stage to provide information on how much will be spent in the current year or future years. However, the overall Skills for Life budget remains at a similar level to previous years, and assumptions around the proportion that will be spent on ESOL also remain the same. While training organisations have autonomy to decide how to allocate Skills for Life funding between literacy, numeracy and ESOL in order to meet government targets and respond to local demand, we would expect the level of investment in ESOL to remain at a similar level to previous years. We are working with employers, employer organisations and Trade Unions as well as Sector Skills Councils and other stakeholders to ensure ESOL provision continues to meet their needs in helping people to obtain and progress in employment as well as promoting and supporting community cohesion.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 1724; 717 c134-5WA
Session: 2009-10
Related items: Education: ESOL
Monday, 14 December 2009
Written questions
House of Lords
Subjects: Adult education Finance English language
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk