Government blocks Reform mayor’s residency rule change for adult education

The government has blocked Reform UK mayor Andrea Jenkyns’ planned introduction of a three-year residency rule for adult learners in Greater Lincolnshire.

Last month, skills minister Jacqui Smith ordered all mayors with devolved adult skills policy powers to fund any student who is resident in the UK from their first day of learning.

The order overrode Jenkyns’ decision to change funding eligibility for Greater Lincolnshire adult learners to at least three years from August 1, when the Reform UK mayor took control of adult skills for the first time.

It appears to be the first time since adult skills devolution began in 2019 that central government has taken steps to stop a mayoral authority’s policy.

The Greater Lincolnshire mayor also plans to cut funding for English language lessons aimed at migrants from next year and instead fund literacy and numeracy courses aimed at “native” Lincolnshire residents. The residency rule order does not impact this change.

On July 7, Smith issued a ministerial direction to all 17 mayors with devolved adult skills in the 2026-27 academic year, requiring them to adopt the same residency eligibility criteria as the Department for Education (DfE).

Ministers have the power to issue mayors with directions on what rules of eligibility they must adopt under the apprenticeships, skills, children and learning act 2009.

Smith wrote that the move is needed to ensure “a single consistent approach” to adult education eligibility is taken across England.

It comes only a year after the government itself dropped the three-year residency eligibility rule for adult education learners who applied to non-devolved areas, which appears to have been in place for more than ten years.

All authorities with devolved adult skills appear to have voluntarily adopted the same residency requirement as the government by the start of the 2025-26 academic year.

FE Week understands that a similar ministerial direction was last issued in 2019, requiring devolved areas to only fund training for learners who had been resident in the UK for at least three years.

The Greater London Authority was the first to drop the three-year residency requirement from the 2022-23 academic year, on the basis that access to training can “support social integration from their first day settling within the capital”.

FE Week contacted Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority for comment.

Steve Hewitt, adult education funding expert and trustee of ESOL-focused charity the Ruth Hayman Trust, said that before the DfE rule change in 2025, few adult learners were excluded from public funding due to the various exemptions, including for refugees and specified family members. Greater Lincolnshire planned to apply similar exemptions.

He said that while the move to retain the national residency rule was positive, he fears the government’s intervention could set a precedent for greater control over devolved authorities’ decision-making.

Hewitt said: “Although this change is a positive, if minor, change for the people of Lincolnshire, it worries me that the secretary of state is making directions towards strategic authorities.

“It’s this now, but what will it be next? We’ve had seven years of ‘it’s your money, get on with it’.

“There are so many eligibility differences up and down the country. Some would like there to be more consistency, but that’s not how devolution works, is it?”

Skills and devolution policy consultant Gareth Thomas added: “It’s important that legal entitlements are protected, but also that people are supported to move into the labour market as soon as possible.

“Making people wait three years to access English language training could increase their benefit and public service costs, which is surely something the government wants to avoid.

“I think local areas should still have control over what they fund, and the ability to align provision with market and societal need.”

A DWP spokesperson said: “The adult skills fund is designed to give people the skills they need for sustainable employment or further education.

“We recognise local leaders understand the skills needs of their residents and businesses and are committed to providing them with the powers they need to enable growth.

“The legislation sets out the parameters that strategic authorities should operate within, and the eligibility requirements for combined county authorities have been consistent for some years.”

Last month, new prime minister Andy Burnham announced that mayors will be handed control of 16-to-19 funding and a say on 14-to-16 technical pathways in a major shake-up of post-16 education.

Previously, ministers had resisted calls for such a move from mayors, arguing that such a move would lead to more “bureaucracy” and inequalities.

Further details on how the powers will be transferred are due to be confirmed in a white paper to be published alongside the autumn budget.