Individual learning 'wasted millions'

Tens of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money was wasted on courses ranging from "transcendental meditation" to "north star crystals", according to a report on the collapse of the Government's individual learning accounts (ILA).

More than 130 course providers are under investigation over payments totalling £67m, but the full extent of the fraud which forced the scheme's closure last year will not be known for up to two years, the National Audit Office said.

Ten police forces are still investigating fraud allegations against dozens of companies nearly a year after Estelle Morris, who resigned from her job as Education Secretary on Wednesday, was forced to shut ILAs down.

The Department for Education and Skills said yesterday that lessons would be learnt from the fiasco, but admitted that no replacement would be introduced before June next year, when ministers publish the results of a fundamental review of adult education.

ILAs have cost the taxpayer more than £273m, against an original budget of £199m, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. Auditors said the scheme lacked proper controls and had been implemented too quickly, opening the door to fraud, and failing to prevent ineligible courses from attracting state funding.

Examples included £77,024 spent on creative writing and £16,985 on "learn to draw and paint" courses.

Some £8,991 was spent on "north star crystals", £18,733 on people studying for a national powerboat certificate, £15,852 on "exercise to music", £1,085 on "transcendental meditation" and £228 on "Chronic Cats 2001" courses.

Sir John Bourn, head of the NAO, said: "The speed with which the department implemented the scheme resulted in corners being cut."

Edward Leigh, the Conservative chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said: "Many things went wrong ... it is hard to single one out for special mention. But I am particularly concerned about the department's decision not to apply quality assurance to courses, relying rather on market forces to weed out poor educational providers."