Catalogue description Training Standards Council and Adult Learning Inspectorate: Reports

The Training Standards Council was responsible for the independent inspection of government-funded work-based training. Its scope included provision funded through training and enterprise councils (TECs), through franchise agreements with further education colleges, as part of the New Deal initiative, with the assistance of the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Single Regeneration Budget (SRB) and in prisons. The Training Standards Council drew its funds directly from the Department for Education and Employment (now Department for Education and Skills) and the Employment Service. The Council's chief inspector reported annually on the findings of the inspectorate to the Secretary of State for Education and Employment.

The Training Standards Council's work transferred, along with part of the inspectorate work carried out by the Further Education Funding Council, to the Adult Learning Inspectorate (ALI) in April 2001, under the auspices of The Learning and Skills Act 2000.

Under the Act, the ALI has responsibility for the inspection of : further education for people aged 19 or over, which is funded by the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) or a local education authority (LEA); training provided wholly or partly on employers' premises for people aged over 16, which is wholly or partly funded by the LSC; training funded (through the Jobcentre Plus) under the Employment and Training Act, including the New Deals; and training offered and funded by employers, at the invitation and expense of the employer.