To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress has been made on the transfer of the functions of the Learning and Skills Council to (a) the Skills Funding Agency, (b) the National Apprenticeship Service, (c) the Young People's Learning Agency and (d) local authorities; and if he will make a statement. (300237)

We are making good progress in transferring the functions of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to the Skills Funding Agency, the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA) and local authorities. Officials in this Department and the Department for Children, Schools and Families are working with our new partners to ensure a seamless handover in April and, as part of this, a period of shadow running has already begun. We are on track for local authorities to assume their new responsibilities, and for the new organisations to be fully operational, from April 2010. The National Apprenticeship Service, which has end-to-end responsibility for apprenticeships, has already been established (in April 2009) and will be housed within the Skills Funding Agency from April 2010.