Figures showing a steep decline in the number of adults on adult education courses have provoked a political debate.  The government claims that it is concentrating resources on skills that will improve people's job prospects but opposition parties have called for more investment in adult education and NIACE (the National Institute for Adult Continuing Education) says that the policy needs to be more balanced.

"There's no doubt that community adult learning has a key role to play at a time of recession. It can help in regenerating communities, fostering resilience and social contact for people displaced by the labour market and in supporting a rich vein of cultural activity," says Alan Tuckett, director of NIACE.