To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1863W, on foundation degrees, if he will list the interested parties in the further and higher education sectors with whom his Department held informal discussions. (114598)

[holding answer 11 January 2007]: The Department is in constant dialogue with representatives from a wide range of organisations in both the further and higher education sectors and beyond. These discussions are often essential for exploring the desirability or feasibility of policy decisions before any explicit proposals are formulated. The proposals in clause 19 (Power to award Foundation Degrees only) of the Further Education and Training Bill emerged from such ongoing discussions.