Individual Learning Account

Individual Learning Account

The Individual Learning Accounts scheme was announced in the 1997 Labour Party manifesto [cite web|url=http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/area/uk/man/lab97.htm|title=new Labour because Britain deserves better|date=1996|publisher=Keele University manifesto archive] [cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2001/nov/29/uk.highereducation|title=Costs of failed learning plan 'cannot even be estimated'|date=29 November 2001|publisher=The Guardian] to support adult education with a system of tax incentives from employers, as well as a cash contribution of £150 to each of a million individuals. The system was biased towards the uptake of IT skills, following the emergence of the internet.

The scheme was announced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in the 1999 budget [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/1999/mar/10/2] and launched in 2000 in the form of financial reimburses to educational course providers for the cost of the ILA incentives. [cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2001/feb/18/observercashsection.theobserver5|title=Learn your lesson - it's worth £150|first=Andrew|last=Bibby|date=18 February 2001|publisher=The Observer]

By the time the scheme was abandoned in October 2001 there were 8,500 acredited providers nationwide. The Department for Education and Skills was investigating 279 providers on the basis of substantial evidence of miss-selling, and police had arrested 30 people. [cite news|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2001/oct/25/furthereducation.educationincrisis|title=Frauds scuttle adult learning scheme|date=25 October 2001|publisher=The Guardian] Prosecutions based on this fraud were still taking place in 2008. [cite press release|url=http://www.cleveland.police.uk/news_resources/press_releases/080222_learningaccountscam.htm|title=Four charged for alleged £2m Learning Account scam|publisher=Cleveland Police|date=25 February 2008]

Capita was contractor which implemented the payment scheme. [cite news|url=http://education.guardian.co.uk/egweekly/story/0,,707088,00.html?commentpage=1|title=ILAs face damning report|date=30 April 2002|publisher=The Guardian] Following its investigation, the Parliamentary Committee of Public Accounts reported that the total expenditure on the scheme exceeded £290million (£37million paid towards Capita) with fraud and abuse amounting to £97 million. [cite web|url=http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmpubacc/544/54403.htm|title=Tenth Report - Individual Learning Accounts|date=4 April 2003]

The fraudulent activity was either in the form of obtaining learning account numbers from individuals or buying them from corrupt providers and simply cashing the credit, knowing that there was virtually no chance of detection of the fact that no education had been delivered.

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Individual, Individuality — • An individual being is defined by St. Thomas as quod est in se indivisum, ab aliis vero divisum (a being undivided in itself but separated from other beings) Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Individual, Individuality      …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • learning theory — ▪ psychology Introduction       any of the proposals put forth to explain changes in behaviour produced by practice, as opposed to other factors, e.g., physiological development.       A common goal in defining any psychological (psychology)… …   Universalium

  • Learning to read — Part of a series on Reading …   Wikipedia

  • Learning styles — A learning style is an educating method, particular to an individual that is presumed to allow that individual to learn best. It is commonly believed that most people favor some particular method of interacting with, taking in, and processing… …   Wikipedia

  • Learning — Learn and Learned redirect here. For other uses, see Learn (disambiguation) and Learned (disambiguation). Neuropsychology Topics …   Wikipedia

  • Learning theory (education) — In psychology and education, a common definition of learning is a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and enviromental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one s knowledge, skills, values, and… …   Wikipedia

  • Learning community — A learning community is a group of people who share common values and beliefs, are actively engaged in learning together from each other. Such communities have become the template for a cohort based, interdisciplinary approach to higher education …   Wikipedia

  • learning — /lerr ning/, n. 1. knowledge acquired by systematic study in any field of scholarly application. 2. the act or process of acquiring knowledge or skill. 3. Psychol. the modification of behavior through practice, training, or experience. [bef. 900; …   Universalium

  • animal learning — ▪ zoology Introduction       the alternation of behaviour as a result of individual experience. When an organism can perceive and change its behaviour, it is said to learn.       That animals can learn seems to go without saying. The cat that… …   Universalium

  • Constructivism (learning theory) — Jean Piaget: founder of Constructivism Constructivism is a theory of knowledge (epistemology)[1] that argues that humans generate knowledge and meaning from an interaction between their experiences and their ideas. During infancy, it was an… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”