I fear that Mike Austin’s normally incisive wit has strayed into fantasy. He says that the Further Education Funding Council tapes telephone conversations. We do not, neither have we ever done, nor do we have the equipment to do so.
He suggests that we keep secret files on colleges. We do not. We do hold huge amounts of information on colleges which is of value to them and for our national and statutory role. In 1996 we published our policy on access to the files. We often receive requests from colleges for information that we hold.
Mike is, of course, welcome to have a look at the Accrington and Rossendale College files.
David Melville, Further Education Funding Council, chief executive, Coventry