FUNDING FOR ADULT LEARNING

That this House expresses its concern over prospects of severe and disproportionate reductions in funding for adult lifelong learning; notes the public statements in support of the value of adult lifelong learning to individuals, society and the economy made by the Prime Minister and all Ministers in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills; considers that adult education provides a second chance for many who did not do well at school, as well as providing life-changing opportunities for the needs of some of the most disengaged people in society; further notes the general benefits of a diverse range of adult learning, which include significant positive effects on health, work-life balance, work-related hard and soft skills and social mobility, greater community engagement and encouragement of volunteering; further considers that adult learning makes a wider contribution to a wider skills agenda and to economic regeneration and has many direct economic benefits, such as moving people off benefits into work and reducing the burden on the state in many areas including health, social care and justice; and, while acknowledging the need to rebalance investment between government, employers and individuals and to make some reductions in expenditure, calls on the Government to recognise that any decisions about savings must ensure that opportunities for affordable adult education for the less well-off and disadvantaged are not irretrievably damaged and lost.