ADDITIONAL £10 MILLION FOR LEARNING PARTNERSHIPS Lifelong Learning Minister Malcolm Wicks today (06/03/01) announced a major new investment in Learning Partnerships, with an extra £10 million to support the work of the Partnerships beyond 2002. On a visit to the Sunderland Learning Partnership Mr Wicks said: "Learning Partnerships are vital if our vision of a learning society is to become a reality. They are doing excellent work, especially in providing effective advice and guidance to adults and improving the levels of basic skills. We are keen to encourage and support them, but they need to be prepared for the challenges that we face from the new knowledge economy. "Learning Partnerships can be at the cutting edge if they continue to harness innovation to develop local solutions to local problems. We want them to boost collaboration in planning and delivering learning opportunities and in driving up quality. In particular we want Learning Partnerships to work with the local Learning and Skills Council on plans to rationalise provision and avoid wasteful duplication. "We also want them to ensure that local communities have a genuine say in shaping future learning opportunities by representing the views and needs of local people and businesses to their local Learning and Skills Council. By bringing together all the key local interests, Learning Partnerships can make sure that local needs are met in the most effective way possible. A key contribution that Learning Partnerships will make is ensuring that learners are able to have a real influence on the quality and accessibility of learning. "Here in Sunderland the Learning Partnership has been doing exciting, innovative work. I am delighted that its involvement in co-ordinating a wide range of strategies, initiatives and action has given a real boost to the life chances of young people and adults on Wearside." Support for Learning Partnerships comprises £10 million previously announced for 2001/02 and £10 million of new money to maintain funding for another year, to enable them to continue with their important role in local learning planning. Learning Partnerships are key to identifying the learning and skills needs of the community and ensuring there is proper co-ordinated consultation and feedback for the voices of learners and non-learners to be heard. The Government has set a target of improving the reading and maths skills of 750,000 people with low levels of basic skills, by 2004, and has recently announced £1.5 billion of funding in a major drive to combat low levels of literacy and numeracy among adults. The additional funding announced today for Learning Partnerships will help them to make a major contribution to that drive and to the lifelong learning agenda in general.