Funding changes by successive governments have left adult education in the doldrums. At one institute in East Finchley, it is society's most vulnerable members who have felt the crunch, reports Tomasz Johnson

In 2005 the Government changed the way it funded adult education. Colleges offering a range of subjects found the cash they needed to run them was diverted to courses leading to basic skills, vocational qualifications and, ultimately, jobs.

Course fees in areas like art and exercise were no longer subsidised and, in the first year after the cuts, the number of people in adult education plummeted by 25 per cent.

Fay Naylor, principal of Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute (HGSI), said the impact has been greatest on the elderly and disabled.

"Adult education has been alive in this country for well over 100 years and is considered the right of all people in a civilised society," she said. "But it doesn't seem to be like that any more.

"Three years ago, we had about 80 students with profound and complex learning difficulties. We can no longer use funding for them because they could never be sufficiently skilled to work. We had to reduce the provision to about 30 students who are funded by Barnet Council.

"We have a wonderful creative studies department but the only people funded are 300 elderly people, who are subsidised so they get in for half price. But there are thousands of elderly people in the borough."

The reasoning behind the Government strategy is that getting people into work or learning English should be prioritised over informal adult learning.

In January this year, John Denham, Secretary of State for the Department for Innovation, University and Skills (DIUS), launched a public consultation to gauge views on informal learning and announced a £600 million increase in adult education spending over the next three years.

He rejected suggestions that informal learning was not valued by the Government and pointed to a 52 per cent increase in spending on adult education in the first ten years of the Labour Government.

A spokeswoman for the DIUS said: "Funding hasn't been cut. Money has been safeguarded for informal learning. But the funding is rightly being focused on helping people to get jobs."

However at HGSI, Mrs Naylor insists the changes have had a financial impact, with higher fees deterring prospective students and excluding those most in need of the service.

In an ageing population, she said, the mental, physical and social benefits of classes for elderly people are being lost.

"The elderly are the group that can least afford the fees. We're in a position where we're still offering concessions but nobody is funding them. It can't last forever."

One of the first casualties in the HGSI prospectus after 2005 was its Creative Connection courses, which helped students with learning disabilities express themselves through art and communication work.

Despite being cited as an example of good practice by Ofsted, the number of classes was slashed because they did not lead to employment.

Amrik Perera, Creative Connections co-ordinator, said: "For people with complex learning difficulties working towards employment is not a realistic aim, but the course has value because it helps them learn to express themselves and have more control over their lives."

The Creative Connections department is recognised in its field nationwide. But it survives in a hand-to-mouth fashion, reliant each year on continued funding from sources like the council.

"There's a very real chance that in two weeks' time we'll have to say Creative Connections can't carry on," Mr Perera said.

"The people we work with are at the bottom of the pile and when it comes to the squeeze, they lose out. The elderly and disabled are bottom in the pecking order.

"But we do enable them to do things they weren't able to do before and that is a valuable thing."

m For more information about HGSI, visit hgsi.ac.uk