To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which 10 skills courses are the most (a) over- and (b) under-subscribed. (274060)

Information on whether individual courses are over-subscribed or under-subscribed is not collected centrally. FE colleges and providers are independent institutions and are responsible for determining their own curriculum offer in order to respond to the demand locally from learners and employers. The curriculum offered by colleges will therefore change to respond to this demand rather than being a set offer that learners and employers apply for. Funding for these courses will also reflect demand and reward those colleges and providers that are most effective at meeting local demand. This will include moving funding from under performing colleges and providers in order to support those over performing.

FE colleges and providers are given indicative budgets based on the expected delivery of an overall volume of learning. However, the actual numbers and types of courses delivered by a college or provider will depend on demand. The Statistical First Release (SFR) “Post-16 Education: Learner Participation, Outcomes and Level of Highest Qualification Held” (March 2009) provides information on the number of LSC-funded learners.

Tables 1 and 2 show the 10 most/least popular Sector Subject Areas for learning aims in 2007/08, the subject area in which the course is based. It also shows the total number of learning aims undertaken in further education colleges.