The Learning and Skills Council will command a budget of more than £8 billion next year, rising to £9.2 billion by 2005-06, education secretary Charles Clarke announced this week. He told the LSC's annual conference for the heads of its 47 local councils yesterday that the money, along with greater funding flexibility, will be on a "something-for-something" basis. The LSC will be expected to deliver on new targets set for reforms of the post-16 sector, including bureaucracy-busting measures.