TUITION fees for adult education courses are set to increase gradually over the next three years.

Derbyshire County Council is expected to rubber-stamp a proposal later today, which would see the first increase take place from September.

Three years ago, the council's adult community education service devised extra fee discounts in order to keep people learning during the economic downturn.

At the time, the then Learning and Skills Council said it was important to maintain volumes of learners even though the income would drop or else it would reduce the funding it gave the council to subsidise courses.

These reductions have continued through to this academic year but the Skills Funding Agency, which now oversees adult education instead, wants to see more costs being met by the learner or employer, up to 50%, in the future.

If the council does not do this then there is a risk that the amount of funding it receives to run courses will be reduced by the Skills Agency.

As a result, the council proposes to increase fees over three years to redress the balance, but has rejected one single large increase which could deter learners.

The increase for 2011 to 2012 would be in line with inflation. This would mean general vocational fees would rise from £2.20 to £2.30 per hour.

For computing qualifications, the increase would be from £1.50 to £1.58 per hour and non-vocational fees would rise from £2.90 per hour to £3.05.

A report to the county council cabinet warns that "in all cases, the rise in tuition carries the risk of reducing learner numbers".

But it also says that the council's pricing policy "is still competitive" when compared to other providers.

The council intends to still offer a 10% discount for early enrolment and also to offer concessionary fees to less well-off people.

These include free English and maths GCSE courses to all learners, free lip reading and sign language courses and 15% off for Derbyshire Gold Card holders.

The council also intends to continue giving concessions to people who receive council tax benefit, housing benefit, working tax credit and pension guarantee credit, although the Skills Agency has stated they should no longer receive reduced fees.