The Government has announced plans to scrap its Learning and Skills Council, which was created in 2001 to improve the nation’s skills.

The news came as part of a White Paper – called Raising Expectations: Enabling the System to Deliver –which discussed the funding structure for changing the school leaving age to 18.

The Learning and Skills Council’s funds will mostly be transferred to local authorities, which will now be in charge of commissioning courses and training for young people, including A-levels, GCSEs, Diplomas and apprenticeships. They will receive £7 billion of funding annually.

A newly created agency will take responsibility for funding further education colleges.

The Skills Council’s chief executive, Mark Haysom, dubbed the agency a “remarkable success story”, but acknowledged that “the world does not stand still.”