To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was spent on teaching English as a foreign language in Bedfordshire and Luton in 2005-06; and what the expected estimated total expenditure is in 2007-08. (129377)

[holding answer23 March 2007]: The following figures are for Further Education Learning Skills Council funded aims with Bedfordshire and Luton Providers in 2005-06 and 2006-07.

The expectation is that next year’s spending on ESOL will be broadly comparable to this year. The budget for the next five years will be dependent upon the comprehensive spending review after which all priorities will be re-assessed.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what he expects the fees to be for the range of English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in 2007-08 between a programme of two hours per week for 30 weeks and a full-time programme of 450 programme guided learning hours. (124695)

[holding answer 2 March 2007]: Since 2001, almost 2 million people have taken up the opportunity to improve their English language skills through the Skills for Life Strategy.

The fee for a learner taking a course in English for Speakers of Other Languages is an operational matter for the national Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and Mark Haysom, the LSC’s Chief Executive, has written to my hon. Friend with this information. A copy of his reply has been placed in the House Library.

Letter from Mark Haysom, dated 21 March 2007:

I write in response to your recent question to the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, about the expected fees for English for Speakers of Other Languages courses in 2007-08 between a programme of two hours per week for 30 weeks and a full-time programme of 450 programme guided learning hours (glh).

Guidance on assumed fee rates is set out in the “Funding Guidance for Further Education 2006/07”, Annex A. In particular Table A2 gives the loadbanded assumed fee element for provision from 9glh to 1019glh per year.

For 2007/08 the assumed fee contribution will move to 37.5% from 32.5% (2006/07).

Set out below is the likely assumed fee rate for all qualifications of the stated glhs for 2007/08. The 2007/08 guidance is due to be published by April 2007 and there may be a slight variance in the figures once all the final calculations have been done:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 1 February 2007, Official Report, column 487W, on English for Speakers of Other Languages, if he will publish the data to which he refers from the Learning and Skills Council’s Individualised Learning Record disaggregated to the degree possible. (126484)

The answer of 1 February referred to Learning and Skills Council (LSC) data which show the increase in demand for Skills for Life English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.

LSC data show that between 2000/01 and 2004/05, enrolments onto basic skills learning aims increased as follows:

These data are not normally published as part of the Statistical First Release on the DfES website.

The current ESOL cohort do not all have the same learning needs as the original target cohort for Skills for Life ESOL. In order to deliver learning appropriate to the needs of both the settled community and those who need English for work in the UK, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority has been asked to develop new ESOL for Work qualifications.