ABSTRACT
Doing it means doing something different. It means government leading from the front because what has been done so far does not work well enough; there needs to be a review of policy. Thus doing it differently means the government paying attention to a list of things which it alone can do. It means getting rid of its obsessions with micro-management and the vocational version of lifelong learning. It means the Treasury dropping its obsession with bean counting as a means of policing the use of public funds. It means also the Treasury adopting accounting systems which are flexible, designed deliberately to accommodate risks of failure so as to free up the LSC and formal institutions to get on with their job. It means exploiting the experience and expertise of voluntary bodies and trade unions. Of fundamental importance if the drive for lifelong learning is a serious element in public policy is to reconsider how secondary schools can become a better preparation for lifelong learning. Above all it means the government replacing rhetoric with leading from the front through coherent action promoted by joined-up government to bring the Department for Education and Skills, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Treasury and the Cabinet Office into line.
