Education and skills secretary Estelle Morris said last week that the programme was being suspended in England following fraud allegations. No new applicants will be accepted from now on. ILAs, launched in 1998 to help with training costs through a grant of up to 200 towards educational courses, will close in England from 7 December.They will continue in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where they will be reviewed.
A letter will be sent to account holders. Ms Morris said learning begun by existing account holders will continue to be supported if it is booked with the ILA Centre by 7 December.
The Government is concerned that some training companies in England have been providing poor value for money or no courses at all. There are worries about how some accounts were promoted and sold, with allegations that some training providers used aggressive selling techniques. Police are investigating 279 providers.
Ms Morris said, 'There is growing evidence that some companies are abusing the scheme by offering low-value, poor-quality learning. We are keen this does not undermine what has been a very successful programme, and so we are acting quickly to protect the interests if individual learners.' She stressed more than 2.5 million people had opened learning accounts and most had access to good quality training.
