To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to integrate carers’ needs into education and lifelong learning strategies.

The Executive’s recently published strategy Life Through Learning; Learning Through Life has a key goal of ensuring that everyone has the chance to learn, irrespective of their personal circumstances. Our policy on widening access to further education aims to break down barriers faced by all groups including carers. Our aim is to ensure that social prejudice plays no part in who gets to benefit from further education. We have delegated to the Scottish Further Education Funding Council (SFEFC) the duty to secure adequate and efficient provision of further education in Scotland. We expect SFEFC to allocate budgets to individual colleges, and offer other support and guidance, in a way that takes account of that duty. Community Learning and Development Partnerships, including of course voluntary sector organisations, also play a crucial role in widening access into learning.