The sums being handed to providers under the Greater London Authority’s adult education budget tender have been revealed.
In August, the Department for Education devolved the capital’s £306 million adult education budget to the GLA; £130 million of which is being devolved over four years.
The tender was launched in October, and the GLA said it had received 202 bids, totalling £811 million; though the results letters sent to providers shows there were actually 336 submissions.
FE Week reported in May on which providers had won the tender, after that information’s release was delayed, due to a “large number of queries raised by potential providers’ applications”.
Of the £130 million that will be shared out via the tender, £32.5 million has been earmarked for 2019/20 (see table below).
Lot one of the tender constitutes 75 per cent and is dedicated to training out-of-work Londoners; while lot two makes up 25 per cent and will go towards training Londoners who are in-work, particularly those with low-pay or a low level of skills.
Newham College of Further Education, which Ofsted rated grade two, is the biggest winning college in the tender, winning £7.5 million for lot one across 2019 to 2023. It will also receive a £12 million grant.
Grade two United Colleges Group will receive the largest share for lot one, £8.3 million, in addition to a £9.3 million grant.
While the provider which received the most for lot two was Pathway First Ltd, with £6.1 million, after it also earned a grade two from Ofsted.
Aside from the tender, the remainder of the GLA’s adult education budget will be distributed to colleges and other institutions that currently receive funding via a grant from the ESFA.
Click the table below to enlarge it:
Interesting that Skills Training Limited is not there. They were chosen as the leading provider on Lot 1 in WM yet didn’t get a look in London where they are based.