This booklet is concerned with how basic skills work with young people and adults can be maintained and developed in the next few years in light of Great Britain's Education Reform Act. An introduction provides a brief overview of the content of the act. Section 2 highlights the basic skills needs in England and Wales. In Section 3, current basic skills provision in England and Wales is described; discussion focuses on diversity, providers, and change in the pattern of basic skills provision. Section 4 addresses English for speakers of other languages. It reports that current provision in England and Wales is extremely patchy and the lack of coherence among providers is confusing to both providers and potential students. Section 5 provides an overview of the Education Reform Act. It addresses these aspects of the act: mandate for a strategic plan for the local education authorities (LEAs), adequacy of further education provision, needs analysis, essential features of an adequate basic skills service, adequacy of basic skills provision for individuals with learning difficulties, classification of subject areas, weightings for full-time equivalents, budgets, excepted items, development funds, specific grants, program area weightings, policy guidance, governing bodies, and school premises. Section 6 summarizes the roles of the LEAs and the Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Unit since passage of the act. (YLB)