OXFORDSHIRE'S adult learning service is to be bailed out of a funding crisis with a £174,000 loan from the county council.

Oxfordshire County Council receives almost all of its funding for adult learning through its contract with the Learning and Skills Council.

The service provides a plethora of recreational courses to an estimated 22,000 adults every year but a reduction in grants has put courses in jeopardy.

This year the LSC reduced its funding by 11 per cent to £4.3m and is expected to make a further cut of £645,000 in the academic year starting in August.

The county council has attempted to minimise the effects of the cash crisis by merging courses, but a projected £174,000 shortfall still remains in 2006/07.

On Tuesday, the authority's decision-making cabinet will endorse a loan of £174,000 to the service to be repaid in full in 2008.

Richard Munro, the county council's head of cultural and adult learning services, said: "While the Government's change of direction via the Learning and Skills Council will probably lead to long term benefits for people who need to improve their basic skills or wish to acquire a qualification, it is certainly causing short-term difficulties to service providers across the country.

"However, I am confident that we can overcome these difficulties by reconfiguring the service in line with the Learning and Skills Council's new expectations."

Subsidies for recreational courses, such as flower arranging, art and photography, have been diverted to the Government's new priorities skills training and vocational courses for under-achieving 16 to 19-year-olds and adults with no formal qualifications.

The cut in the adult learning budget has forced further education colleges and the local authority to increase fees, leading to a dip in enrolments.

And from September further cuts will see almost 40 per cent of those on free evening courses being expected to pay and others facing sharp fee increases.

County councillor Don Seale, pictured, cabinet member responsible for adult learning, said: "By imposing changes in funding through the Learning and Skills Council, central government is forcing councils to make severe cuts in these much valued services.

"While it is undoubtedly good to encourage courses that help people to acquire basic skills and achieve qualifications, it is a pity that it is no longer prepared to fund leisure courses, which improve people's general well-being, to the same level.

"The changes to funding are causing financial difficulties to adult learning providers across the country, but we intend to continue to run the service at nil cost to the council taxpayer."