Sheffield Liberal Democrats launch campaign against cuts to adult education

5.10.32pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 7th Jul 2005

Cllr Ian Auckland, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for Adult Services and Social Regeneration

The Liberal Democrat group on Sheffield City Council have launched a campaign to reverse proposed budget cuts to the provision of Adult Education in Sheffield. Under the Governments plans cuts will mean pensioners discounts will be lost and many courses will cease to run.

Not only will adult education suffer widescale cuts this financial year, but Government have plans to introduce even more reductions in 2006/07. Providers in Sheffield are already making provision for the cuts, looking at dumping the course with the lowest attendance and making savings through redundancies.

Providers will be expected to charge for 'Leisure Learning', this includes courses such as craft, art and holiday languages. Often these courses are the initial courses requested by new learners and attract people into further learning. The range of community courses will be reduced, especially those provided by Sheffield Collage. Also Sheffield Collage have been forced into withdrawing the reductions offered to retired people.

Liberal Democrats in Sheffield are condemning the cuts as 'an attack on community learning' and have pledged to mount a widescale campaign against cuts. They believe that adult education is vital to communities as it not only helps individuals better themselves it provides a vital social function for many.

As part of the campaign Lib Dems will be aiming to reverse the cuts and help to avoid redundancies of teaching staff and the withdrawal of the pensioner discount at Sheffield Collage. To start off the campaign Lib Dems have launched a petition which asks for the cuts to be reversed, supports the campaign against redundancies and demands the Council lobby Government to this end.

Cllr Ian Auckland, Liberal Democrat Shadow Cabinet member for Adult Services and Social Regeneration, said: -

"The ladder, and the bottom of the ladder in particular, is being kicked away by the Government. These cuts will hit people wanting to better themselves by getting back into learning, these plans are an attack on community learning"

"Also, for many people getting back into learning is about taking small steps to build confidence, this opportunity is now being denied. The very people who want to educate themselves further for their own good, and ultimately the good of society, are being penalised under this Labour Government"

"The Liberal Democrats in Sheffield are now taking action against the cuts in order to maintain courses and keep the discount for pensioners. We are launching our petition that calls on the Government to reverse the cuts and for the local Council to lobby the Government to that end. We hope that everyone can get behind this petition and send a strong united message to Government"

Related Link:

Click here to sign the petition against adult education cuts.