The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) has released the identities of the 97 providers who paid back £554k after a surprise in-year audit — with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) worst hit with a request of more than three times anybody else at £150k.

Una Bennett, deputy director for funding systems for the SFA, wrote to 699 providers before Christmas warning of a shock clawback on 2013/14 funding, because “some provision has been incorrectly claimed”, as exclusively revealed by FE Week on January 9 (pictured right).

The SFA said the following month that it had “resolved the identified issues” with more than 600 providers who wouldn’t have to return any 2013/14 cash, but it estimated that a total of £500k would need to be repaid by more than 90 providers. And it has now revealed, in response to a Freedom of Information request lodged by FE Week, the identities of the 97 providers asked to repay.

The average amount paid back among the 97 providers was £5,711, but the five highest sums to be repaid were from CITB, Carshalton College, Kingston College, Veolia Environment Development Centre and West Suffolk College, respectively.

An SFA spokesperson said that it reclaimed the funds “through providers earnings” where “we still have a contract with a provider”, but in “all other instances the money will be reclaimed through an invoice process”

A spokesperson for CITB, whose SFA allocation as of April was £40.6m, said: “This was an administration error on a number of learner files following changes to SFA criteria on training periods. We have worked with the SFA to amend any errors and the issue has now been resolved.”

Peter Mayhew-Smith, principal of Carshalton and Kingston colleges, which were federated in 2012 but retain separate governing bodies and were allocated a combined £8.7m by the SFA in April, said: “From 2013/14, students over the age of 24 have had to either pay for a level three programme themselves, or apply for a 24+ learning loan. Kingston College and Carshalton College processed over 600 24+ learning loans for 2014/15.

“Unfortunately, due to a clerical error, the colleges claimed a small proportion of these as funded students. The clawbacks have been actioned through subsequent payments.”

A spokesperson for Veolia, which was allocated £1.2m by the SFA in April, said; “We have resolved the data coding error, which related to the end dates of apprenticeship programmes with the SFA, arranged repayment and look forward to their continued support in the future.”

A spokesperson for West Suffolk College, which was allocated £1.2m by the SFA in April, said: “It [the repayment] related to 10 apprentices who genuinely achieved their programmes prior to the projected end date.

“The SFA reclaimed the funding [in May] which was deducted from the college’s normal monthly profiled payment.”

Meanwhile, the SFA revealed in its June ‘Inform’ newsletter that it had uncovered incorrect funding claims for 2014/15 after another in-year review.

It said: “Following a review of R10 data we can still see that learners are being reported as fully-funded in circumstances when they should only be co-funded. Some providers are incorrectly claiming full funding for learners aged 24 and over, learners aged 19 to 23, and apprentices aged 19 and over. We also have concerns about providers incorrectly claiming funding for learners aged 24 and over for learning aims at levels three and above.”

Here’s the full list of colleges and sums paid back:

The under-fire principal of a Midland college has told FE Week of her commitment to staying on in the role after being hit with five votes of no confidence by University and College Union (UCU) members.

Beverley Smith (pictured), who took over at Stafford College early last year, is facing down calls to quit amid allegations she is operating a regime of “crippling workloads, rising stress levels and a culture of fear”.

But governors locked in talks for four hours on Monday (June 29) night emerged, according to a college spokesperson, having seen “no evidence presented which would support any action to be taken against the principal”.

Ms Smith, a former deputy principal at Basingstoke College of Technology, told FE Week: “I am deeply saddened by the recent developments at the college, however I would like to make clear that I am committed to the organisation and will continue to remain so.

“My vision which is shared with the board of governors is for the college to be outstanding, and there is no doubt that with the practises we have in place this can be achieved.

“I am working closely with the board of governors to address any issues from staff and would not want recent developments to affect the reputation of the college.

“We are currently up on applications in comparison to this time last year and my focus remains on the students, and ensuring that they have the best experience of Stafford College.”

Just nine months ago Ms Smith came in for praise from Ofsted inspectors, who gave the college a ‘requires improvement’ rating and said: “The recently appointed principal and the new senior management team have worked energetically to develop a strategy with the aim of the college becoming outstanding in a short space of time.

“They have a well-developed strategy for the rapid improvement of teaching, learning and assessment and establishing the college as a provider of outstanding vocational education for local employers.”

However, it is understood staff relationships have soured with local press reporting 19 full-time workers, 11 part-time staff and 16 sessional employees as having handed their notice in over the nine months up to May, when a 30-day consultation on the college’s future was launched.

UCU regional support official Rebecca Stewart said: “It is incredibly disappointing that governors threw out staff concerns and their refusal to address them at an emergency meeting shows a worrying lack of leadership.

“Staff will now risk sending in signed statements to try and get something done about the crippling workloads, rising stress levels and culture of fear that exist at the college.”

A spokesperson for the 4,300-learner college, which had an April Skills Funding Agency allocation of £3.9m, said: “The board of governors have spoken with both union and non-union members of staff regarding the management style of the principal and we acknowledge the views which were presented to us.

“As a governing body, we have a responsibility to follow organisational procedures and will continue to seek the views of staff, external bodies and other stakeholders with a view to inform them of the progress and what we intend to do to take the college forward.”

Bosses of England’s new national fracking college were today waiting to find out if appeals would be launched after two applications to use shale gas extraction method on their doorstep were thrown out by local councillors.

Blackpool and The Fylde College, the hub for the new National College for Onshore Oil and Gas, has already said it won’t be affected by rejection — and Lancashire County Council development control committee has done just that.

Cuadrilla wanted to drill four wells and undertake exploratory fracking for shale gas at a site near Little Plumpton on the Fylde.

The decision, delayed since January, was thrown out and followed the rejection days earlier of a bid to frack at another site between Preston and Blackpool.

Daryl Platt (pictured), executive director for commercial development at Blackpool and The Fylde College, the hub for the new National College for Onshore Oil and Gas, said it was waiting to find out if Cuadrilla — the firm behind the applications — would be appealing.

“The college has been set up to identify the future job roles required by industry and train workers to the highest safety standards, if and when required,” he said.

“The national college will have impact across the UK and we continue to work with partner colleges, universities and organisations to ensure we are ready to meet industry demand.

“Along with many other organisations, we are currently waiting to hear whether there will be any appeal to the Lancashire County Council decision.”

United Kingdom Onshore Oil and Gas’s (UKoog), the firm behind the college, has called for a change in the way fracking bids are determined.

Spokesperson Ken Cronin said: “An important plank of the government’s energy policy and manifesto commitment has been reduced to a position that despite all the advice a rejection has been given.

“This after 15 months of a long drawn out process cannot be right and I urge the government to urgently review the process of decision making.”

A Cuadrilla spokesperson said the firm was “surprised and disappointed” by the decision and was considering appeal, adding: “We remain committed to the responsible exploration of the huge quantity of natural gas locked up in the shale rock deep underneath Lancashire.”

The impact of cuts to adult skills funding on colleges across England is increasingly being raised by MPs concerned about providers in their constituencies, with even those represented by front-bench politicians reporting problems.

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The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has rejected Professor Lady Alison Wolf’s recommendation that all employers pay a levy to fund apprenticeships growth.

Neil Carberry, CBI director for employment and skills, said the “universal levy” put forward by the King’s College academic, who penned a 2011 government review of vocational education, might help in terms of quantity, but he questioned whether it would improve the quality of apprenticeships.

“We need a system that encourages more employers to get involved in apprenticeships if the government’s 3m target is to be met, but quality matters as well as quantity,” he told FE Week.

“A universal levy wouldn’t deliver that.”

Professor Wolf outlined her levy proposal in a 26-page report for the Social Market Foundation, entitled Fixing a Broken Training System – The case for an apprenticeship levy, out on July 2.

She said: “To rebuild apprenticeship as a robust and credible institution for the long-term needs a secure funding source. A small but hypothecated payroll levy on businesses is the only simple and robust way to do this.

“An apprenticeship fund is a practical way to kick-start the revival of apprenticeships now, forcing all employers to take note and take action.

“It will transform incentives, restore the employer-apprentice contract as the core of the system, and fund apprenticeship growth and improvement.”

But Mr Carberry said: “Businesses already understand that they need to make a contribution to training apprentices, but the key to success is relevant qualifications that businesses and apprentices want.

“A tax might shore up funding — but it wouldn’t address quality and relevance, or help involve the many smaller employers whose help is needed to reach 3m.”

The universal levy proposal was also given short shrift by Stewart Segal, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers.

“We don’t believe that levies or taxes are the right way to encourage training unless a group of employers wish to adopt their own system,” he said.

“Nor do we think it’s possible to set up such a proposal in the short-term; therefore growth in apprenticeships has to be funded through additional employer and government investment.”

Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “It’s right that employers make a contribution to the costs of training the national workforce.

“Levies are one way in which this could be achieved and they are in use in many other countries. It will be important, however, that any levy system is not unduly bureaucratic on the one hand or likely to induce ‘game playing’ similar to tax avoidance on the other.”

A Department for Business, Innovation and Skills spokesperson said: “This report is a valuable contribution to the debate which we’ll review with interest.”

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) handed out nearly £600k in exit packages to 13 staff who chose voluntary redundancy in 2014/15, the organisation’s annual report has revealed.

The report shows that exit packages for the year totalled up to £575k, with nine employees each handed between £25,000 and £50,000 upon leaving and four others paid between £50k and £100k each.

A UKCES spokesperson told FE Week the packages were arranged in line with civil service rules and included “compensation for loss of office” payments.

She said: “The commission ran a voluntary exit scheme which resulted in 13 staff leaving the organisation. The scheme was part of a wider programme of restructuring resources to enable the organisation to focus on future priorities.

“The exit payments were agreed and made in line with the standard civil service terms and were approved by the Cabinet Office and Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.”

A principal accused of steering his former college into “unprofitable non-core activities” has clashed with FE Commissioner Dr David Collins.

Amarjit Basi, who served as principal of New College Nottingham (NCN) for less than two years from September 2011, labelled Dr Collins’ report and the inspection process “flawed”. His comment follows the release of documents relating to the commissioner’s visit in February of this year.

Mr Basi, now principal of Cornwall College, was singled out for criticism in Dr Collins’ report, mostly over what was described as his “expansionist policy” while at the helm of NCN.

The commissioner, who visited NCN in February, said: “During its recent history in each year since 2006/07, the college had delivered an underlying surplus until 2013/14 when it recorded a significant deficit, the magnitude of which was not anticipated by the senior management team and not communicated to governors.

“There were a number of reasons for this deterioration in the college’s financial position but the key ones were the expansionist policy of the previous principal, which involved diversification into a number of unprofitable non-core activities.”

He added: “The board was too willing to accept the enthusiasm of the previous principal without undertaking an appropriate cost benefit or risk analysis of new projects, with the result that a number of loss making activities drove the college into deficit.”

Mr Basi declined to speak to FE Week about the report, but a spokesperson for Cornwall College confirmed he was “concerned that the report/process is flawed” and said a dialogue had begun with Dr Collins on the matter.

The commissioner’s visit was prompted by a Skills Funding Agency (SFA) notice of concern issued on December 15 last year following a judgment of inadequate financial health based on the college’s 2013/14 forecast and expected outturn.

The notice came after the college, which has a current SFA allocation of £16.3m, was warned by Ofsted it required improvement following inspections in both January 2013 and May last year.

According to Dr Collins’s report, the college has delivered a “significant operating deficit subsequent to the closure of the Nottingham Motor Company, withdrawal from overseas investment, increased partnership activity and additional staff costs”.

Although the report did not go into detail on finances, the Nottingham Post has reported that the college, which has “fully accepted” the commissioner’s findings, had run up a deficit of £2.4m, having also had to secure a rescue package from the government and Nottingham City Council to help it complete a £12m new campus.

Dawn Whitemore, NCN principal, said the college had made “significant progress” against Dr Collins’s recommendations and was “on track to meet our financial target, which will see us achieve a breakeven position by the end of this academic year as planned”.

She added: “One of his key recommendations was for the college to take part in an area review of FE provision in Nottingham, alongside Central College Nottingham, which is ongoing.”

The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills declined to comment.