Select committee: Education Committee
Recommendation 5
Third report - A plan for an adult skills and lifelong learning revolution
Published 19 Dec 2020
Paragraph 22
Addressed to Department for Education
Education Committee Adult skills and lifelong learning All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
Adults need clear and impartial advice and support on learning and funding. The National Careers Service is limited and overly centralised, particularly given the extent to which ASALL provision is now devolved. A far more proactive approach to promoting and communicating statutory entitlements and local offers is needed. 38% of adults have not participated in any learning since leaving full-time education— simply waiting and hoping that this group will decide to engage with the National Careers Service is clearly not the basis of an effective strategy.
From: Education Committee, Third report - A plan for an adult skills and lifelong learning revolution (HC 278), paragraph 22, 19 December 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 12 March 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government says it has "considered the findings and recommendations of the report carefully" and responds to each recommendation, largely by pointing to existing and planned measures such as the Skills for Jobs White Paper and the Lifetime Skills Guarantee.
- On a long-term strategy, it points to the Skills for Jobs White Paper and a Lifelong Loan Entitlement equivalent to four years of post-18 education from 2025, and says it will consult on its detail and scope "later this year", with legislation "where necessary".
- On funding, it says funding beyond 2021-22 "will be considered as part of a wider Spending Review later this year which will include full costings".
- On devolving National Careers Service funding, it states "There are no plans to devolve careers budgets".
- On the Union Learning Fund, it says it "chose not to continue to support" it, and will instead use the funding for wider skills and retraining.