Colleges query councils' knowledge
Lauren Higgs
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Local authorities are ill-prepared to take on responsibility for 16 to 19 education and training in April next year, according to a survey by the Association of Learning Providers (ALP).
The survey, which questioned more than 60 learning providers, revealedthat more than half have serious concerns about councils' capacity towork with colleges and training organisations when the Learning andSkills Council is dissolved next year.
More than 70 per cent of ALP members reported having little or noconfidence in local authorities' knowledge of the learning providersector and more than 50 per cent said they have little or no confidencein local authorities' ability to commission services fairly.
Paul Eeles, director of 14-19 at the ALP, said learning providers areconcerned because they are yet to be given formal instructions on howthey will be expected to work with local authorities post-April2010.
Eeles warned: "There is much work still to be done by the localauthority community to instil the confidence in our membership to showthat they understand our part of the sector".
John Freeman, director of the React programme at the Local GovernmentAssociation (LGA), which is supporting councils through the transfer'said he was not surprised by the findings of the study: "As yet,understanding within local authorities about independent providers isstill developing."
He added that the key point at which local authorities will start towork with independent providers will be 2011/12, when independentproviders will have commissioning responsibility.
