Response to the Department's Strategic Plan 2001 - 2004

1. Introduction
The Committee for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment has considered the Department's 3-year Strategic Plan and has detailed its response below. The Committee's response has been structured to reflect the corresponding sections of the Strategic Plan for ease of reference.

2. Quantification
There is insufficient information throughout the document to clarify a timetable for activity over the three-year period. Indeed, it could be argued that there is less information in this regard than the detail contained in the Programme for Government which the Strategic Plan should flow from. The Committee believes that another attempt at clarification would be both an incentive for fulfillment and an aid to measuring achievement which would be of use in the preparation of future Annual Business Plans. As it stands, the Department could be seen to be fulfilling its strategy by merely commencing many of the stipulated actions at any time before April 2004.

The Committee accepts that the Department will publish Annual Business Plans setting out the actions it proposes to deliver on the strategic goals outlined, and that the level of detail included will be greater than within a longer-term strategy document. However, it should still be possible to predict activity within the three-year timeframe. We would also stress the value of some comparators based on the experience in the rest of the UK or internationally.

3. Business and Resource Allocation
An attempt to quantify the proportion of the Department's budget to be spent on the main areas of responsibility would aid an analysis of the appropriateness of resource allocation.

Lifelong Learning has not been included as a main area of responsibility. Contrary to this, it was included in a similar list in the Department's Equality Scheme, it was a key theme in last year's Business Plan and is also referred to later in the Strategic Plan as a key issue.

4. The Learning Environment
The reference to "increased student participation and the Department's commitment to ensuring growth" should include both clearer presentation of the levels of growth proposed by 2004 and the year on year growth which would achieve this.

The document refers to "the major challenge of widening access to third level education to those currently under-represented in it." Reference needs to be made to quantification of the target audience.

The Department states that " higher and further education institutions are aware of their crucial regional economic role and will direct their efforts and amend their provision to meet the emerging skills and other needs of the economy." The Plan should refer to how the Department intends to monitor this area and establish models of best practice which can be replicated across the sector.

5. Strategic Goals
As there has been no attempt to prioritise the Department's strategic goals as listed, can the Committee assume that they are all of equal importance?

6. Key Issue - Implementation of the ONE Service
Given that the pilot exercise will be evaluated in this financial year, will there be a delay in the implementation of the service in all areas? This is not in line with "the acceleration to a welfare system giving active support" outlined in the strategy, especially as implementation of the service "will remove duplication of effort between agencies and provide a more efficient and effective service."

7. Key Issue - New Deal
The document should clarify what the "specific needs of Northern Ireland" are regarding New Deal and when the programmes will be tailored to meet these needs.

Although a strategic goal is to "deliver New Deal efficiently and effectively," there is little reference in the strategy on how to make New Deal more efficient and demonstrate value for taxpayers' money.

Regarding the pilot of early interventions, specific reference should be made to the provision of basic skills, given the correlation between unemployment and basic skill deficiencies.

8. Key issue - Employment Relations
We suggest that reference should be made here to the Single Equality Bill, which is to be brought forward in the timeframe covered by the Strategic Plan. This will have considerable implications for both employment law and employee rights and for the Department.

9. Key issue - Social Inclusion
A major omission in this area is the lack of reference to the specific target contained in the Public Service Agreement of increasing access to work for the disabled. This should have been referenced under strategic goal 6 or 7.

As discussed with the Permanent Secretary, consideration should be given to including a strategic objective here to address the issue of poverty in employment and the Department's role in relation to the minimum wage and 'low pay' generally.

Strategic Goal 7 is to "deliver on Equality Scheme commitments." According to the
timetable in the Department's Equality Scheme:

• the Department's monitoring systems were to be reviewed by March 2001;

• all existing functions were to be screened by April 2001; and

• the Communications and Marketing Strategy was to be published by May 2001.

10. Key issue - Lifelong Learning
This key issue should have outlined the Department's forthcoming role in the light of the Review of Careers Education and Guidance, the importance of which is highlighted in the Programme for Government.

The reference to Individual Learning Accounts (ILAs) states that their introduction "has been a considerable success in terms of take up." A key point surrounds who is availing of the opportunity offered by the ILA and, more importantly in the context of New TSN, Lifelong Learning and Promoting Social Inclusion, who is not.

The Committee noted that, whilst the strategic objective suggests offering Lifelong Learning in any context, the PSA limits measurable support to Lifelong Learning to the workplace i.e. "by 2004, the Department will have promoted Lifelong Learning amongst those in work by providing support for 18,100.

11. Key issue - Skills Development
The document should include a forecast of what will happen re "the production of skill levels for a future workforce" and more information on how the Department will "improve the contribution to policy development of industry sectors."

Consideration should be given to widening the strategic goal "to enhance the skills of the Northern Ireland workforce," to include its potential workforce.

12. Key issue - Widening Access to and Increasing Participation in Further and Higher Education
This section states that "figures for university entrance show under-representation from lower socio-economic groups" and states that "it is believed that many do not take advantage of the opportunities presented through further education." A proposed and measurable remedial strategy should be set aside this.

The statement that achievement of the strategy in this area "will require greater collaboration between the colleges" also needs to be strengthened. Reference should be made to the Department's actions to improve the standing of the FE sector and to forecast future developments. The need for collaboration is even greater, given local autonomy and variable needs combined with the lack of financial resources.

The Committee has concerns that the Department is to " encourage the universities and FE institutions to bear down on drop-out rates," in regard to what actions are proposed. Whilst drop out rates are an issue, the institutions should not be discouraged from promoting participation for fear of the risk of increased drop out. In a recent evidence session with Departmental officials, it was suggested that there was a problem with reliable information on retention rates across the FE sector. If this is the case, there may be a problem with measurement in this area.

13. Key issue - Enhancing Quality in Further and Higher Education
The strategic goals "to enhance quality in Higher Education" and "to enhance quality in Further Education," are seen very much in isolation. The strategy would benefit from explicit encouragement of co-operation between the sectors and forecasts of activity to facilitate this.

The Committee believes that, the "new arrangements to be developed and implemented for quality assurance in the universities" should attempt to account for the views of many teachers in higher education, who believe that the area is currently over regulated and that these regulations do little to improve quality.

14. Key issue - Economic Relevance of Third Level Education
The document states that "the Department will wish to see the FE institutions develop a particular role in support of SMEs", but does not back up this statement.

The Strategic Goal "to improve adult skills in literacy and numeracy" is included under this key issue. Consideration should be given as to whether this would be better placed under the Key Issue of Lifelong Learning or of Skills Development. This goal could be strengthened by reference to the proposed action in the PSA "to develop a strategy on Adult Literacy and Numeracy by October 2001." The Committee seeks an implementation strategy within the early part of this Plan which is measurable, challenging and will start to effectively address this problem.

The Department states that it will "introduce and develop policy in relation to Foundation Degrees." Some reference should be made to the fact that according to the Annual Business Plan, Foundation Degree pilots are to be initiated in October 2001, and that these should only be developed on a large scale if the piloting proves to be successful. The timing of each phase needs clarification.

15. Key issue - The 16 - 19 Curriculum
Regarding the Department's provision for 16 - 19 year olds, the Department states that "in any programme we want to ensure that young people learn to learn rather than just to acquire knowledge and/or skills." The Committee believes that this strategic ambition can only be achieved if the plan spells out how this aspiration will be built into existing programmes.

The document also needs to include some information on how the Department will "work closely with the Department of Education to build on the provision in schools."

16. Key issue - Research, Development and Innovation
The absence of a timeframe in this area, leaves Strategic Goal 16, "to support university research, development and innovation" somewhat meaningless.

17. Key issue - Supporting policy and programme delivery through e-business
Strategic Goal 18 needs to be reworded to specify the key services identified for electronic service delivery are for the initial target on e-government if, as the document states, "100% of key services are to be available electronically by 2005." Furthermore, the Department needs to ensure that its E-Business Strategy is designed to meet the target set for 2005, since it is stated that the Strategy will contain a "3 - 5 year development programme."

In relation to this key issue, the Committee looks forward to the launch of the Department's website, with effective maintenance and back-up arrangements, by the end of July 2001.

18. Conclusion
The Committee for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment supports the Department's draft Strategic Plan subject to the reservations outlined above.

Dr Esmond Birnie, MLA
Chairman

5 July 2001

Minutes of 28 June 2001, para 4
Minutes of 5 July 2001, para 3, action point 2