Mr J Herron

[[FOI #6672 email]]

Your Reference:

Our Ref: FoI 119

Date: 12 February 2009

Dear Mr Herron

I am writing in response to your request for information, made under the Freedom of Information Act, about the cost of courses for job seekers, which we received on 24 January.

You asked for information about the National rates for 13 week duration courses which are funded by DWP and to which Jobcentre Plus refers job seekers.

Such provisions are part of the New Deal programme and operate under a system known as formula funding, the core elements of which are;

a standard unit price for each provision, irrespective of where it is delivered (apart from London);
use of Price Bands to reflect the differences in the complexity and cost of provision content/delivery for different occupational sectors;
an `On Programme' element which is intended to cover the basic programme delivery costs, and which is spread over the number of weeks;
an `Outcome (achievement) element', directly linked to job outcomes and qualification outcomes where appropriate;

The table, attached at Annex A, shows the current maximum unit price per individual (excluding VAT). These rates have been in use since 30 June 2008.

If you are not satisfied with my handling of your request please tell me why. I will then arrange for an internal review of your request and my actions. The review will be conducted by another officer of a more senior grade to me who took no part in my original decision. The reviewing officer will advise you of his decision in writing.

If you are still not satisfied after we have looked at your request again, you can then ask the Information Commissioner to look into the way your request has been handled. The Commissioner is an independent officer who is appointed by Her Majesty the Queen and reports directly to Parliament. The Commissioner can see all the papers about your request and decide whether my decision is fair and meets the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

The Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office

Wycliffe House

Water Lane

Wilmslow

Cheshire

SK9 5AF

Fax: 01625 524 510

E-mail: http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely,

Central FoI Team

Annex A

	Price Band	Unit Price	On Programme Element £	Job Outcome Amount £	Qual'n Outcome Amount £	On Prog. Element (Am't p.wk.) £
Music Industry Provider (MIP) Service	A	£ 1,352.92	£ 893.20	£ 459.72	£ -	£ 68.71
NDYP - FTET / ND 25+ - IAP Occupational Training	B	£ 1,533.17	£ 1,012.20	£ 347.42	£ 173.55	£ 77.86
	C	£ 1,714.48	£ 1,131.90	£ 388.50	£ 194.08	£ 87.07
	D	£ 1,894.73	£ 1,250.90	£ 429.35	£ 214.48	£ 96.22
Basic Skills,	D	£ 1,894.73	£ 1,250.90	£ 429.35	£ 214.48	£ 96.22
NDYP FTET / ND25+ IAP Occupational Training including LGV Certificate C	E	£ 2,860.65	£ 1,888.60	£ 648.22	£ 323.83	£ 145.28
NDYP FTET / ND25+ IAP Occ. Training incl LGV Certs C & E *	E	£ 3,748.11	£ 2,474.50	£ 849.32	£ 424.29	£ 190.35
NDYP ETF & VS	B	£ 1,814.15	£ 1,197.70	£ 616.45	£ -	£ 92.13
	C	£ 1,955.17	£ 1,290.80	£ 664.37	£ -	£ 99.29
	D	£ 2,091.94	£ 1,381.10	£ 710.84	£ -	£ 106.24
ND25+ IAP Training Routeway (PredominantlyTraining)	B	£ 1,814.15	£ 1,197.70	£ 411.09	£ 205.36	£ 92.13
	C	£ 1,955.17	£ 1,290.80	£ 443.04	£ 221.33	£ 99.29
	D	£ 2,091.94	£ 1,381.10	£ 474.03	£ 236.81	£ 106.24
ND25+ IAP Occupational Tr'ng incl. 2 wks Forklift truck & 4 wks Warehousing	E	£ 2,210.69	£ 1,459.50	£ 500.94	£ 250.25	£ 112.27
ND25+IAP Occupational Training including LGV Cert C *	E	£ 2,860.65	£ 1,888.60	£ 648.22	£ 323.83	£ 145.28
ND25+IAP Occupational Training including LGV Certs C&E *	E	£ 3,748.11	£ 2,474.50	£ 849.32	£ 424.29	£ 190.35
ND25+ IAP Work Placement Routeway (predominantly Work Placement)	B	£ 1,814.15	£ 1,197.70	£ 616.45	£ -	£ 92.13
ND25+ IAP Work Experience Routeway (predominantly Work Experience)	D	£ 2,091.94	£ 1,381.10	£ 710.84	£ -	£ 106.24
ND25+ IAP - 13wk Work Experience Provision (Non-Routeway)	C	£ 2,205.39	£ 1,456.00	£ 749.39	£ -	£ 112.00

Abbreviations used:

NDYP - New Deal for Young People

FTET - Full-Time Education & Training Option within New Deal for Young People

ETF - Environment Task Force Option within New Deal for Young People

VS - Voluntary Sector Option within New Deal for Young People

ND25+ - New Deal for people aged 25 and over

IAP - Intensive Activity Period within New Deal for people aged 25 and over

Training/Provision for the main Occupational Sectors is allocated to Price Bands as follows:

Band B Business Administration; Retailing & Customer Service: Leisure, sports & travel; Hospitality.

Band C Agriculture; Management & Professional; Hair & Beauty; Healthcare & Public Service; Media & Design.

Band D Construction; Engineering; Manufacturing; Transportation.

Band E Forklift truck / Forklift truck & Warehousing; LGV (lorry driver) Training;