CONSULTATION ON HOW ADULT EDUCATION MONEY IS SPENT

GREATER Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) has begun a six-week consultation on a significant change to how money on adult education is spent in the area.

- By IVAN MORRIS POXTON Local Democracy Reporter

It is proposing to remove funding for English courses for speakers of other languages.Known as ESOL, in 2023/24, approximately £1m was spent on this in Lincolnshire, supporting over 1,400 residents to learn English. Adult skills funding will be devolved from next year to the Mayor and combined authority.

The Mayor, Dame Andrea Jenkyns (Reform UK), favours scrapping ESOL funding to put into wider adult literacy education programmes.

She said levels of illiteracy in England were "a stain on our history", and talked up mobile apps as an alternative for non-English speakers to learn.

Colleges, the private sector and the public now have six weeks to participate in a consultation on the proposed change. A final decision is due to be made after this, in February.

"My thinking was, looking at the statistics, there's 6.6 million people who are illiterate across England and I think that's shameful," Dame Andrea told Grimsby Live of why ESOL funding is proposed to be removed.

She added, "It's actually trying to do something different in our county to right that wrong."