Surrey Council Council is set to close Haslemere's Adult and Community Learning enrolment centre in a bid to save more than £45,000, it was announced this week. Surrey will also be closing centres in Godalming and Runnymede to make up the cash. Of Surrey's 15 centres, only these three will face the chop. Haslemere's learning enrolment centre, based in Haslemere Library in Wey Hill, will continue to operate until the end of July. The centre is used by people aged over 16 to enrol on a variety of courses which run across the area. From August, manager Rose Tregunna will no longer be manning the centre, which enrols hundreds of people from Haslemere for courses every term. It is estimated 300 people will use the Haslemere centre to enrol for this September's courses. After July learners will still be able to take along their completed enrolment forms and payments by cheque and leave them with library staff. The grant needed to keep the centre open comes from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the body responsible for planning and funding post-16 education and training. The grant has been reduced this year because the government is now placing a higher priority on vocational learning to address the skills shortages that exist in the economy. Surrey County Council's executive member for safer and stronger communities, Christine Stevens, said: "The public will effectively see little change this year, as services will be largely protected. We are, however, mindful of the fact that the LSC grant is likely to reduce further, so we are using this year to plan with the LSC and partner providers of adult and community learning to secure some continuity for the future. "We have set up a special projects team for this and will be going out to tender for services this August 2006, with an update report coming back to the executive later in the year." Surrey county councillors have said they are aiming to minimise the impact of the grant reduction on adult and community learning courses in the Farnham area for the next academic year. For the academic year 2006/07 Surrey County Council will continue to run a range of adult education courses at several centres in and around Haslemere, including the two main centres at Wispers School and Haslewey. More details about the full range of courses and centres will be available in the new 2006/07 prospectus, which will be published on June 26. The prospectus will also be available online at http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/">www.surreycc.gov.uk/ adultlearning It is estimated that closing the enrolment centres in Godalming and Haslemere, plus a similar centre in Runnymede, will save the council more than £45,000. Surrey County Council has said the cash will go back into services for learners.
