Mayors to take control of 16-19 funding

Mayors will be handed control of 16-to-19 funding in a radical break from England’s Whitehall-run post-16 education system.

Further education colleges, sixth form colleges, school sixth forms and independent training providers are all within scope of major reforms announced by prime minister Andy Burnham tonight.

Number 10 described the plans as the biggest transfer of power, funding and responsibility from Westminster in a generation.

Local leaders will also gain greater control over employment support, transport, housing, planning and public services.

The announcement came with no detail on implementation. Instead, the government will publish proposals and a timetable in a white paper alongside the autumn budget.

The government expects arrangements to differ between areas and will work with colleges, schools, mayors and other partners to agree the precise parameters and protections before powers are devolved.

Places without a mayor will be supported to establish strategic authorities and gain control over local priorities, the announcement said.

‘Nightmayor’

The announcement marks a dramatic reversal after years of tension between mayors and the Department for Education over control of post-16 funding.

Mayors have repeatedly demanded influence over the national 16-19 budget, arguing local leaders are better placed to align courses to the needs of their local economies

But ministers have until now resisted those calls.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith, recently reappointed by Burnham, acknowledged last year there was “tension” between DfE and mayors on this issue.

She told MPs: “I could not envisage that we would devolve all of 16-19 funding to mayors,” although she suggested individual elements could be transferred.

Burnham himself, then mayor of Greater Manchester, had described DfE, then led by Bridget Phillipson, whom he demoted in last week’s reshuffle, as his “biggest frustration” because it would not release control over post-16 education.

It comes days after plans were unveiled for mayors and other local leaders to design new technical education pathways for pupils from the age of 14.

‘Tread very carefully’

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said the announcement could be a “very positive step”, giving colleges greater investment, support and prominence in local economies.

But he warned the plans would “tear up” the national system and make colleges and school sixth forms accountable to elected mayors.

AoC said the existing £9.5 billion system serves 1.275 million students across more than 2,500 colleges, schools and training organisations.

Hughes urged ministers to “tread very carefully”, work through the detail with the sector and pilot changes before a wider rollout.

He called for a strong national framework with “guide-rails” to reduce the risks of devolution.

Colleges would also need freedom from national regulations that prevented them responding to local priorities, alongside long-term capital and revenue investment to expand provision and improve staff pay, he said.

Hughes added that mayors would need to convene employers more effectively and exercise stronger powers over schools to ensure they collaborated with colleges post-14.

“None of these things are straight forward, and this devolution will take significant time to work through the system and best serve students,” he said.

Sixth Form Colleges Association chief executive Bill Watkin also welcomed the opportunity for schools and colleges to work more closely with devolved authorities.

But he said any new model must give college leaders freedom to respond to local needs while preserving equal access to academic routes.

Watkin said: “We look forward to a high-trust system where college leaders have the freedom to tailor their curriculum and resources to meet the individual needs of students.

“That means a system in which colleges can both meet local skills needs, and deliver a core academic curriculum that gives students equal access to higher education and graduate jobs, irrespective of where they come from.”

Association of Employment and Learning Providers chief executive Ben Rowland welcomed the focus on skills but said the reforms must work for employers operating across several regions.

He said: “As the detailed plans are developed, it is important that the government focuses on what will work for employers, including those employers who work across multiple regions.

“Even better news for the prime minister and the chancellor is that many independent training providers are able to raise the upfront capital to prepare for this next chapter without recourse to the public purse.

“This is an exciting new chapter for England, but one fraught with risks.”

Already devolved adults

Mayors have had control over adult skills budgets since they were devolved out of the Department for Education in 2019.

Those powers allow local leaders to commission courses against local economic and social priorities, set their own funding rules and eligibility requirements within budgets determined by central government.

Devolution has allowed authorities to set local priorities, widen access to selected courses and vary funding rules according to regional needs.

This has led to varying eligibility rules, funding rates and accountability arrangements in different parts of the country.

The freedoms have also given elected mayors the ability to exclude groups from accessing public funding.

Greater Lincolnshire’s Reform UK mayor, Andrea Jenkyns, decided that English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) courses will not be funded from the area’s devolved adult skills budget for most learners from August 2027.

Elsewhere, the announcement confirms trailed plans to allow mayors to retain a greater share of locally generated business rates and income tax revenues. Meanwhile, in Whitehall, the civil service will become “smaller and more strategic, focusing on the responsibilities that are best exercised at a national level.”