Colleges and local authorities will get a multi-million pound Skills Funding Agency (SFA) payout for non-apprenticeship provision this month while independent learning providers (ILPs) look set to miss out on the cash boost, FE Week can exclusively reveal.

In a letter seen by FE Week, SFA funding and programmes director Keith Smith told colleges and local authorities they would be getting in-year growth allocations before the end of the current financial year if they had delivered at least 97 per cent of their adult skills budget (ASB) contract value in 2013/2014.

Mr Smith said: “As part of the performance management process, we continue to work to ensure funding supports the skills needs of every local community. While apprenticeship and traineeship growth are still our priority, we value the breadth of skills training (including English and maths) that colleges deliver locally. We recognise that the funding for this provision has been, and continues to be, under pressure.

“Alongside increasing the funds available for apprenticeships and traineeships through the performance-management process, we are now able to make additional other ASB funds available in the funding year 2014 to 2015. We will allocate this funding to those colleges and grant-funded training organisations that delivered 97 per cent or more of their ASB contract value in 2013 to 2014.”

Among those set for the payout this month was Sheffield College. It delivered nearly 99. 5 per cent of its June ASB allocation last year and told FE Week it was in line for £700,000.

However, the SFA declined to comment on the payouts or reveal the total amount going to colleges, but said figures would eventually be published. It also declined to comment on whether ILPs would get a payout, but FE Week understands none has received such notification, sparking questions about whether they would get similar windfalls.

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Stewart Segal told FE Week: “This money has been allocated to colleges because of the different type of funding systems for colleges and independent providers.

“Our view for the long term is that all providers should be funded in the same way and this will ensure that allocations in the future reflect employer and learner demand rather than according to the type of provider.”

Julian Gravatt, assistant chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “In March 2014, the SFA notified colleges of cut to the ASB of around 15 per cent for courses that didn’t lead to apprenticeships.

“The decision half-way through the 2014/15 academic year to reduce this cut by a small amount is helpful but is also late.

“We’re sure that colleges will make sensible use of the money but we also know that they’ll be tightly constrained in what they can do because they face further cut to this budget line of at least 16 per cent for 2015/16. Colleges will find out in March 2015 what precisely they have.

“The year-on-year reductions in public spending are taking their toll on adult learning and skills. The best way to get good value from the funds available will be via a more stable funding system.”

 

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6 Comments

  1. Mark Boulting

    As an independent provider that delivered over 100% of last years ASB contract, and is constrained this year from taking on any more maths and English students by contract values, I look forward to a funding increase to support our learner demand in the same way as any other provider.
    Currently providers are prohibited from applying for non apprenticeship/traineeship growth via the performance management process.
    This funding is most welcome in supporting learning not yet ready for apprenticeships (or in areas where a framework is not available), however surely the way to allocate is by learner demand and not institution.
    I am sure this is how the SFA intended any desperately needed funds to be spent, and that any unforeseen consequences will be addressed.

  2. What’s interesting/worrying about this move is that in previous years what has happened about now is we’d get a letter from SFA saying “oh hello, do you mind if we pay a bit of your allocation early?” in order that they could meet their financial year targets and not give money back to the Treasury. Very occasionally there would even be “one off” payments for over-delivery for the same reasons.
    .
    What’s different about this year’s letter is that the increased values are consolidated into our 15/16 baselines which is the first time I can remember this happening on a relatively global scale. This may sound like a good thing, but it does make me worry that this is the final rearranging of the deckchairs before SS FEtanic ploughs into the looming cuts iceberg…

  3. This is good news for the Colleges and LA’s concerned, however for ILP,s such as Hill McManus whose ASB sub contracting value with FE Colleges is approximately 60%, we would appreciate knowing who has received these payments and when the additional budget must be spent by (presumably 31/07 2015)
    This would then give us the opportunity to assist the Colleges and LA’s in how to best spend this windfall, an area of contracting in which Hill McManus is a market leader

    All the best

    Martin

  4. Mike Motley

    AS an ILP with outstanding performance for English and maths delivery we failed at every quarter last year to grow our ASB allocation to support this important government priority, being told that all funding was allocated. We then find out that there was an £111 million ASB underspend by providers in 2013/14, £93 million of which was in colleges that they were allowed to keep (for no delivery). For this windfall only to be allocated to colleges (and LAs) and none to ILPs once more smacks of an unlevel playing field.

  5. I disagree Rich – I am MD/Owner of an ILP – and a social enterprise to ensure that ‘profit’ is re-invested… please don’t tarnish us all with the ‘profit for company directors’… of which, some of us are paid less than the delivery staff! I would also like to know the same as Martin – where can we find out where all this money was allocated, as we are unable to grow also due to the same constraints!