IN BRIE F

r Early indications from this year’s university admissions suggest there could be a record number of applicants, ahead of the tripling of university fees from autumn 2012. So far, there has been an increase of 2.5 per cent in applicants, compared with last year’s record level, says the UCAS admissions service.

r The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a strategic framework for digital inclusion in Wales. The framework identifies the key groups of excluded people and sets out the steps that can be taken to start addressing the issues. It emphasises the need for a wide range of stakeholders to ‘buy in’ to the vision of achieving digital inclusion.

r The National Union of Students and the University and College Union will join the TUC in a mass protest and rally to highlight youth issues, including the scrapping of the Education Maintenance Allowance, access to education, and youth unemployment. A Future that Works: National Rally for Young People will take place in Manchester on Saturday 29 January.

r Scrapping the Education Maintenance Allowance will stop thousands of youngsters from going to college, according to Sue Rimmer, Principal of South Thames College. She told the London Evening Standard that the cut would have a disproportionate impact on participation of the most disadvantaged people in the capital.

r A Scottish teaching union, the Educational Institute of Scotland, will launch its own manifesto ahead of the Holyrood elections in May. The EIS said it needed to ensure that education was at the top of the agenda for all political parties in order to protect the country’s schools, colleges and universities from cuts.

4 ADULTS LEARNING JANUARY 2011

Government and voluntary sector organisations agree compact

CIVIL SOCIETY

A renewed ‘compact’ governing relations between the government and civil society organisations in England has been launched by representatives of the government and the voluntary and community sector. The compact, which is signed by the Prime

Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Civil Society, sets out clear principles for distributing public money, designing services and policies, and funding relationships. These include: three months notice when changing or ending funding relationships; meaningful and robust consultation; multi-year funding; and the right of the voluntary and community sector to campaign. The agreement applies to all government

departments, and all local areas have a version which takes into account local needs. This means every voluntary and community sector organisation which engages with either national or local government can expect the principles of the compact to be followed.

Civil society minister Nick Hurd said the new compact was shorter, clearer and ‘more relevant

to current priorities’. It is backed by a set of accountability and transparency measures outlined in a short guide. The guide gives information about how to challenge bad practice and seek positive outcomes when things have gone wrong.

The National Audit Office is also to carry out

a one-off study into the operation of the compact across government, which will be reported to Parliament.

This level of scrutiny is intended to enhance adherence to the compact and provide a strong platform for the Cabinet Office and Compact Voice, the organisation which represents civil society organisations on the compact, to work together to embed the agreement in day-to-day relations between government and civil society. Simon Blake, chair of Compact Voice, said the measures for greater accountability would give the compact teeth. ‘With major changes in relationships and funding across the country, more than ever both parties need to know, and stick by, the “rules of the game”,’ he said.

Scottish government outlines higher education funding options

HIGHER EDUCATION

The Scottish government has set out proposals for the future of university funding. Education secretary Mike Russell outlined six options in a Green Paper, including a graduate tax and increasing business support. However, ministers have ruled out the re-introduction of up-front tuition fees.

Scottish students studying at home currently pay no tuition fees, while other UK students currently at Scottish universities pay about £1,900 per year. The six options under consideration are: the state retains primary responsibility for funding, which, with funding for Scotland’s university sector taking a £67

million cut, will mean money being taken from other budgets; the state retains primary responsibility but with a graduate contribution closing the funding gap; increasing income from students coming to Scotland from other parts of the UK; increasing donations and ‘philanthropic giving’; increasing investment from Scottish businesses in higher education; and making more efficiency savings in the sector, perhaps through more efficient use of building space or shared facilities.

A final decision on the proposals will be made later this year. The changes will be implemented in 2012, in line with the reforms to higher education funding in England.

Jobless young people are more likely to suffer from depression and panic attacks, according to a study from the Prince’s Trust.

The study found young people were twice as likely to self-harm or suffer panic attacks if they had been jobless for a year.

About one in six respondents to the survey said being out of work was as stressful as a family breakdown, and one in eight said unemployment gave them nightmares. Half of young people seeking work said visits to a job centre made them feel ashamed, and more than half said that job- searching had left them feeling disillusioned or desperate. The study showed that young people who were not in education, employment or training were less happy across all areas of their lives. The Prince’s Trust said that unemployment presents a ‘real and frightening mental health problem for young people’. Some 943,000 people aged 16 to 24 are unemployed in the UK. The Department for Work and Pensions said its new Work Programme would give ‘tailored support’ to help people return to work.