Plans for a new adult education scheme, to replace one which was scrapped because of fraud claims, will be in place next June, a minister has said.

It's thought vast amounts of money was lost through fraud on the old programme, known as the Individual Learning Account (ILA) Scheme.

The junior education minister Ivan Lewis told the Commons ILAs would be replaced after the government completed a review.

He also said the government was ending its contract with Capita, the private company it had paid to run the ILA scheme.

Critical report

The announcement came just hours before the publication of a report on ILAs by the National Audit Office.

There has already been one very critical report on the affair by the education select committee at the Commons.

The ILA scheme - which basically provided subsidised courses for adults - cost the taxpayer �273m.

The police are investigating allegations of fraud by scores of training providers.

The scheme was closed in England last November amid claims of fraud. Other schemes in in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales closed shortly afterwards.

In a written answer in the Commons to a question about when proposals for a replacement would be brought in, Ivan Lewis said:"In June 2003 following the completion of our review of funding of adult learning and as an integral part of our groundbreaking national skills strategy and delivery plan."

He said work with Capita on a replacement scheme was "now complete".

He did not criticise the company, which shared the blame for the fiasco in the select committee report, but said: "We are grateful for the partnership approach that Capita have adopted to the wind down of the ILA scheme and the development of a successor scheme." Capita was also awarded the �400m contract to run the Criminal Records Bureau which is responsible for checking teachers and other staff who work with children.