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11 April 2026

Author: Paul Offord

Subsidised apprentice travel plan falls off Labour manifesto

A long-term pledge to cover the cost of apprentice travel has not made it into Labour’s final general election manifesto – despite it featuring in a leaked draft version. Last week, the draft version first leaked to our sister paper FE Week, included a commitment to paying for apprentices’ travel costs, “which currently run to […]

Breaking: Labour manifesto plans for FE and skills unveiled

Labour has unveiled its plans for the future of FE and skills in its official general election manifesto just out. Central to this is the plan to “introduce free, lifelong education in FE colleges, enabling everyone to upskill or retrain at any point in life”. Key points include plans to: Introduce free, lifelong education in […]

Pay cut row at struggling north east college

Staff are understood to be facing up to 10 per cent pay cuts at a north east college with “real financial challenges” – although questions remain over whether this will also be applied to senior managers. Lecturers and staff were reportedly warned last week that Darlington College’s finances are in a perilous state, and a […]

Costs in question after Labour apprentice pledge

The financial implications of Labour’s pledge to cover apprentices’ travel costs have been called into question, after the Conservatives labelled their costings a “total shambles”. A leaked draft version of Labour’s manifesto committed to paying for apprentices’ travel costs, “which currently run to an average of £24 a week – a quarter of earnings if […]

Labour pledge to stop adult learner fees would mean scrapping FE loans

A pledge to stop fees on courses for adult learners, which FE Week has learned would involve scrapping advanced learner loans, has been made by Labour before the official launch tomorrow of its education election plans. Shadow education secretary Angela Rayner (pictured) and party leader Jeremy Corbyn will outline the proposals, during speeches set to be […]

Labour spells out plans to drive apprenticeships quality to FE Week

Labour has exclusively spelled out its plans to drive up the quality of apprenticeships to FE Week. It comes after the party pledged last night to stop fees on courses for adult learners, which FE Week also learned exclusively would involve scrapping advanced learner loans. We asked yesterday why apprenticeships had not got a mention […]

Ambassador vows to ‘beat drum’ over small business fears

The government’s small business apprenticeship ambassador will “continue to beat the drum” over fears that limited access to funding will drive SMEs away. Jason Holt spoke exclusively to FE Week after the devastating impact of last week’s “derisory” funding allocations for providers delivering apprenticeships to small employers between May and December became clear. The announcement, […]

College crashes two grades from ‘outstanding’ after lengthy inspection wait

A college that went nearly 10 years without being inspected by Ofsted after being rated ‘outstanding’ has crashed two grades. Blackburn College was given a ‘requires improvement’ verdict by the inspectorate in a report published this morning, following inspection from March 14 to 17. It comes nearly a decade after its previous full inspection in […]

AELP demands 4 million apprenticeship starts commitment

A call on the next government to commit to 4 million quality apprenticeships over the life of the next parliament has been made by the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, in its new general election manifesto. The conservatives pledged, ahead of the 2015 general election, to fund 3 million apprenticeship starts over the following […]