‘£379m’ in college capital cash will return to Treasury via ‘penalising’ VAT rules

Colleges are set to return £379 million in recently pledged capital funding back to the Treasury due to its “penalising” VAT policy, a group of colleges has argued.

The figure is an estimate of the amount of VAT FE colleges will pay on the £2.275 billion the government pledged to spend on the sector over the next five years in last month’s post-16 education and skills white paper.

The Large College Group, an informal partnership of England’s seven largest colleges, has also commissioned a report by the London School of Economics (LSE) Consulting that details the “uneven playing field” they face.

One college in the partnership, LTE Group, estimates that its annual VAT bill of about £5 million would fund an extra 400 places for 16-18 students, an additional pay rise of 3.5 per cent for teachers, or purchase 8,770 laptops to “close the digital divide”.

LTE Group CEO John Thornhill said VAT is a “striking example” of the inequality colleges face compared to schools and academies, which are both exempt from the tax.

He added: “We urge the chancellor to use the budget to reverse this unfair and damaging policy and unlock badly-needed funding to turbocharge the UK’s future growth.”

Large College Group member Activate Learning estimates that its £3.5 million VAT bill from last year could have paid for the maintenance costs of all eight of its campuses, or carbon neutral upgrades to its City of Oxford college and University Centre campus.

New City College said its £800,000 bill on a recently completed £5 million teaching block could have provided three fully equipped science labs rather than standard classrooms.

The LSE Consulting report argues VAT rules are “penalising” colleges, despite their role as “key enablers” of social mobility and contribution to the UK’s relatively high rates of degree-educated adults.

Granting an exemption to VAT rules in line with schools, academies and local authorities would “immediately” improve margins and cash flow for the sector, the report says.

It estimates that the seven colleges would see an uplift on their income of 1.55 to 2.96 per cent, giving almost all of them an extra six to eleven days of operating coverage.

Releasing additional capital funding through VAT exemptions could result in 1.1 to 4.4 per cent additional investment each year, the report also argues.

The Association of Colleges estimates college VAT bills cost the sector around £200-£250 million each year.

Currently, Section 33 of the VAT Act 1994 allows local authorities and other such public bodies to reclaim VAT from non-business activities.

However, complex rules that allow colleges discounts on VAT for some construction projects and fuel and power costs are also subject to an ongoing legal dispute between the Colchester Institute and HMRC.

The LSE Consulting report suggests the government could create a “sector specific refund mechanism” limited to FE colleges and sixth form colleges through “similar arrangements” to those created for academies in 2011.

It says the case for an exemption is not only “fiscal fairness” but a “necessary policy correction” to support the sector.

It adds: “FE Colleges disproportionately serve students from low-income families, first-generation university-goers, and immigrant backgrounds.

“These are precisely the groups most in need of tailored support to remain in  education beyond the age of 16.

“The current VAT regime, however, penalises the very institutions that work most intensively with those at risk of educational exclusion—undermining not only the principle of fiscal equity, but also broader goals of social mobility and inclusive growth.”

Speculating on why the Treasury has “historically resisted” VAT refund schemes, the report suggests officials could be concerned that “others delivering services of public benefit may also press for equivalent treatment”.

A government spokesperson said: “FE colleges are exempt from paying VAT on education supplies, and therefore cannot recover any VAT.”

“As the Prime Minister outlined earlier this year, Further Education is key to achieving our mission to grow the economy, that’s why we’ve invested £7.5bn in education for ages 16-19 last academic year and are providing a further £590m for colleges this financial year.”

They added that a further £590 million will be invested in colleges and other 16-19 providers this year, on top of the £7.5 billion for 16-19 education in 2024-25.

Limited understanding: OfS grants degree powers to wrong LTE Group

The Office for Students has reissued an order to grant the LTE Group degree awarding powers after it incorrectly authorised an online retailer with a similar name.

The higher education regulator made the blunder earlier this summer and granted degree awarding powers to LTE Group Limited, a Manchester-based e-commerce company. 

The powers were meant to go to UCEN Manchester, a higher education provider part of the LTE Group, which said it has not been affected by the mix-up since the July order that is due to take effect on January 1, 2026.

The Office for Students (OfS) admitted the “drafting error” to Parliament’s joint committee on statutory instruments in August and requested a correction slip to change the name on the order or issue a new order.

“The order should have authorised ‘LTE Group’ (a registered higher education provider) to grant awards, not ‘LTE Group Limited’ (a separate and unrelated entity which is not a registered higher education provider),” the letter to the committee said.

In September, the OfS issued a new order to the correct LTE Group and has since reviewed and strengthened its internal drafting processes to avoid another slip up.

An OfS spokesperson said: “There was a drafting error on the order, which we are now looking to rectify.

“The order is not due to take effect until January so currently has no practical effect. We will resolve the error as soon as possible and we have also reviewed our processes to avoid this mistake being repeated in future.”

Michael Walsh, Dean of UCEN Manchester, told FE Week: “The degree awarding powers (DAPs) order is not due to come into effect until January 1, 2026, so we have been unaffected by the Office for Students’ drafting error. They have now issued a new DAPs Order (made on September 17, 2025) referring to the correct LTE Group and we have continued to work on developing our own degrees in the interim.”

UCEN Manchester offers close to 100 courses across 12 subject areas, ranging from access to higher education diplomas to Bachelors of Arts.

Walsh added: “We are grateful for the OfS’ prompt work to address this matter, and are looking forward to validating our own courses across UCEN Manchester’s creative and technical higher education provision. This is a significant landmark in our journey that indicates the quality of our courses and demonstrates our future ambitions.”

Providers must join official register to offer new ‘apprenticeship units’

Training providers will need to register with the government to deliver new “apprenticeship units” through the reformed growth and skills levy, it has been confirmed.

Officials also expect the content of each unit will be drawn from existing apprenticeships instead of brand new or other non-apprenticeship-related courses.

Kate Ridley-Pepper, director of work-based skills in the Department for Work and Pensions, revealed the extra details today at the Association of Employment and Learning Providers’ autumn conference.

She said this design approach will ensure that government and employers know that all apprenticeship units have “the rigour to be really high-quality products”.

However, there is uncertainty about whether apprenticeship units will be assessed.

Registration requirement

Last month’s post-16 education and skills white paper confirmed that the current apprenticeship levy will fund a selection of short courses when it is turned into the growth and skills levy from April 2026.

The short courses will be known as apprenticeship “units” and be offered initially to employers in “critical skills areas” such as engineering, digital and artificial intelligence.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith yesterday revealed during an FE Week webinar that the units’ duration will be as short as one week and up to a few months.

Ridley-Pepper confirmed this approach today before outlining which providers will be eligible to offer apprenticeship units.

“I’m sure you’ll be keen to know how you offer apprenticeship units, and I can confirm that you will need to be approved by the department in order to deliver and claim funding for apprenticeship unit delivery. 

“Details of how that will work will be published near the time and shared, but I can assure you that we will try and make sure the process is simple and efficient with no duplication.”

Ridley-Pepper said the plan is to use the existing apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) instead of developing a separate register.

Providers already on APAR will not need to re-register.

The skills director added that the government is also thinking about ways to ensure providers not currently on APAR can get onto the register to deliver apprenticeship units.

“That is our working assumption, we will try and ensure there isn’t a duplicative second process,” she explained.

“But we are also aware that there might be some people who are not currently delivering apprenticeships, who might be interested in units. So we’re keen to do a bit more work to figure out exactly whether there will be exceptions or differences. But wherever possible, we will try and make sure that there is one register that is the register that we use, and if you’re delivering apprenticeships, you are able to deliver apprenticeship units.”

There are 1,454 providers on APAR. 

Other providers are currently only allowed to join the register if they can show they are a “provider nominated by an employer that has shown evidence of a gap in the apprenticeship provision offer” or a “provider in an area we want to grow or where we identify a capacity issue”.

Apprenticeship unit content

Ridley-Pepper also confirmed that apprenticeship units will be “built from employer designed occupational standards using quality assured knowledge and skills”, adding that the “intention there is to complement existing apprenticeships and to offer employers the greater choice in how they invest in their skills in their workforce, which they have been calling for for some time”.

She said the government is planning to lift existing content from apprenticeship standards, such as a mandatory qualification, to use as apprenticeship units.

“One of the things that employers have said to us is that, particularly for older members of their workforce looking to upskill, there are elements from existing apprenticeships which they really want their workforce to benefit from, but at the moment, the only way to do that is by enrolling someone on a full apprenticeship. 

“What would be more valuable for them would be to access particular units from apprenticeships, and that not only would that save them time and be more efficient, it will also be a better use of funding that’s available. 

“So those initial apprenticeship units, the intention is that the content for that will be drawn from existing apprenticeships, and that way, we know that they have the quality, the rigor, the demand from employers to be really sort of high-quality products.”

She gave an example of an employer that does not want to enrol someone on a full plumbing apprenticeship, but they want to train their worker on the heat source pump module that exists within the apprenticeship.

Assessment concern

There is however concern that providers will be able to deliver apprenticeship unit training without an element of independent assessment.

Asked about this today, Ridley-Pepper said: “So I think that will very much depend what the particular unit is and how long it is, whether, in the existing apprenticeship, there is an assessment associated with it.”

Ed Balls among inaugural Get the Nation Learning award winners

Manchester City Council, BBC Studios Drama and former politician Ed Balls have been celebrated with the first-ever Get the Nation Learning award for their efforts to widen access to adult learning.

The inaugural awards, run by think tank Learning and Work Institute (L&W), will recognise 11 winners as lifelong champions in a sparkling ceremony in London’s Barbican Centre this evening.

The awards form part of L&W’s week-long ‘Get the Nation Learning’ campaign to make the case for lifelong learning.

It follows the think tank’s annual adult participation in learning survey, published earlier this week, which found a sharp dip in the number of adults engaging in learning last year.

The ceremony honoured broadcaster and ex-shadow chancellor Ed Balls with the lifelong learning ambassador award for his commitment to adult education.

While he was a cabinet minister, Balls undertook a course at adult learning centre City Lit to learn strategies to cope with his stammer. He subsequently became a City Lit fellow.

“When adults learn, our society and economy thrive,” said Stephen Evans, chief executive at Learning and Work Institute.

“We are proud to celebrate the 11 winners of our inaugural Get the Nation Learning Awards: their stories showcase the growth, productivity, good work, resilient communities, and fuller and richer lives that lifelong learning can bring. We have a long way to go as a country to close inequalities in learning and to make sure everyone can benefit – but today our focus is on the individuals and organisations who are helping turn the tide.”

Employer of the year went to BBC Studios Drama for its workforce development excellence. The award recognised the production company’s work to secure jobs and long-term careers for learners in the West Midlands on shows such as Father Brown, Sister Boniface, and Silent Witness.

Judges selected Oldham College ESOL teacher Nerissa Roberts to receive the excellence in teaching award. The panel were wowed by her “inspirational” dedication to learners, many of whom are refugees, asylum seekers, and adults with little or no English.

HRH Princess Anne personally selection West Midlands businesswoman Maddison Walker to be commended with the patron’s award for her impressive achievements in gaining a senior leader apprenticeship and becoming a business owner.

Meanwhile, Mark Jones was honoured with the new directions award, which honours people learning new skills later in life. Jones was a self-employed plasterer for 36 years and after losing his second wife and experiencing unemployment for a period, he decided to switch careers and enrolled on Telford College’s HGV course.

The awards also recognised training providers, such as Lancashire Adult Learning, which won the healthier futures award for its work with public health, primary care networks and social prescribers to engage over 10,000 learners in around 300 community venues.

London-based Redbridge Institute of Adult Education were the winners of the learning with technology award for its “innovative” use of artificial intelligence and virtual reality across its course provision including maths, childcare, and ESOL.

Property developer Lendlease were also commended with the net zero hero award for its work in the London borough of Newham. The developer, known for its sustainable projects, impressed judges for helping to expand the local council’s Our Newham Learning and Skills programme’s curriculum to digital, data, and green skills.

Additionally, two Manchester-based adult education services have been highlighted for their success in embedding lifelong learning for Manchester residents.

Manchester City Council has won the regional growth award for using its UNESCO City of Lifelong Learning status and its city-wide partnership with over 700 organisations to provide wide-ranging learning opportunities to residents.

The talent is everywhere award went to Positive Futures, the employment and training service of social housing provider MSV Housing due to its “life-changing support” for Mancunians recovering from trauma or navigating homelessness to young parents, older residents.

Another housing association Poplar HARCA were lauded with the stronger communities award after judges were impressed with its communities and neighbourhoods directorate, which offers an “expansive” range of adult learning programmes for migrants, disabled people, older adults, single parents, and learners with special educational needs and disabilities.

1-week apprenticeship ‘units’, and 5 other things we learned from Smith’s white paper briefing

Skills minister Jacqui Smith joined FE Week for a 30-minute webinar today to discuss the recently published post-16 education and skills white paper.

Here’s what we learned…

1-week duration for some apprenticeship units

Short courses funded through the reformed growth and skills levy will be introduced in April 2026 as planned, but with their own special name: apprenticeship units. 

The white paper confirmed that an initial wave of fundable short courses will be offered for employers in “critical skills areas” linked to the industrial strategy such as engineering, digital and artificial intelligence. 

Smith revealed today that the length of these courses will “typically last between one week and a few months”.

She added that the units will complement existing apprenticeships and be based on “employer-designed occupational standards using quality-assured knowledge and skills, giving employers confidence around their legitimacy, content and quality of training”.

Skills England is “still developing the details, and we will share those as quickly as we can”.

Ben Rowland, CEO of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers who joined a panel of experts after the minister’s briefing, said: “I’m not sure about how a one-week programme will work as an apprenticeship unit. I’ll be interested to see how that is developed.”

‘Facilitating’ collaboration instead of ‘putting the stick about’

The white paper claimed the government will support providers across post-16 education to “identify their specialism and foster collaboration with local market actors” to “ensure all areas of the country have the right volume and mix of priority courses and research capabilities”.

Officials will be “clear on what we expect from providers and will ensure providers are held to account to deliver this”.

The white paper, however, stopped short of setting out exactly how this increased level of collaboration will look in practice across colleges, universities, training providers and their funders, or what specific levers government could pull.

Smith said today the government was not “dancing around” the issue, pointing to prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s new ambition of getting 66 per cent of young people to a level 4 or above qualification.

She added: “I’m optimistic that people can see the arguments for doing this. When I go to universities, when I go to colleges, they tell me that they’re enthusiastic about doing this. 

“I would rather that we facilitated that happening with a clear objective set through the prime minister’s target, than I went around putting the stick about and telling people what they should and shouldn’t be doing because it will differ in different places.

“One of the things that government needs to do is to get the regulation, the conditions, the funding in the right place, in order to facilitate it.”

Banning leaders to protect FE

Ministers plan to legislate to “bar unsuitable people” from management positions in further education providers – a power that can already be exercised in schools.

Explaining the rationale behind extending the law to FE providers, Smith said: “I meet phenomenal FE leaders doing enormously important work which hasn’t always been recognised in the past. The prime minister has been very clear that that has got to change. 

“But as we know, because of the significance of this leadership role, sometimes you need to be able to take action to prevent people from leading these really significant jobs. 

“It is already the case that that the secretary of state can bar unsuitable people in schools. Essentially, what we will do when parliamentary time allows, when we when we have a bill, is to take the same protections for the FE sector that already exist for schools.”

Smith said there was no single incident that triggered this policy extension.

Level 3 options will be ‘much clearer’

The white paper’s headline reform is the introduction of V Levels, which will replace “hundreds” of courses that sit alongside A Levels and T Levels.

When asked what a 15- or 16-year-old learner’s options will look like in five years, Smith said they will be “much clearer”.

The minister said V Levels will offer a third educational route that is linked to employer-set standards, can be combined with A Levels, and is “more practical, more applied, with assessment to match”.

V Levels are an opportunity to “fill that gap” for students who don’t want to take the “well-regarded” A Level or “high quality” T Level pathway.

She accepted that the transition period “will be difficult” but argued the end result would “give everybody an appropriate route to go to”.

Smith was also challenged on the white paper’s claim that students are “confused” by 900 level 3 qualifications – which is the number of approved qualifications in that space, but most are not actually delivered.

In response, she repeated the claim that the current “third route” study options are “too complicated” and argued that the government needs to look at “shortcomings” of the current offer from qualifications such as BTECs are “not always clear” on whether they are linked to employer needs.

She added: “And it’s not always clear that you can combine things to maintain a breadth.

“If you’re not completely sure what the occupation that you want to go into is, those are the issues that I think we can solve with V Levels, whilst keeping the good way of working for students who know they want something more practical, more applied, with assessment to match.”

Why a new English and maths level 1 course is needed

A new “stepping stone” qualification at level 1, announced in the white paper, will be designed to “better prepare” students with lower attainment prepare to resit their GCSEs in English and maths.

Smith said the aim is to move away from the current resit “treadmill of failure”.

Asked why functional skills alternatives could not fill this need, Smith said the “applied” nature of the courses “doesn’t actually help” students who lack the basic English and maths skills required.

She added: “If you haven’t got the basics in English and maths, it doesn’t help you, actually, simply to put something in a different context.

“It’s building up that foundation of knowledge which we think is going to lead to future success for students.”

When asked whether the government would like to eventually “remove” functional skills as an option, she said a “pretty small proportion” of students currently take the qualification.

She added: “So let’s see how we go with actually achieving something that will enable more young people to get to that gateway, that’s going to enable them to do what they want to be able to do in the future.”

Adult education ‘regret’

Responding to concerns that adult education was the “missing piece” in the white paper’s puzzle, Smith said that the essential skills review and sector skills packages would help to “really maximise the impact” of the available budget.

However, addressing concerns about the 3.7 per cent cut to the adult skills fund and free courses for jobs budgets from September, the minister said that she “wholly” understands the sector’s concerns. 

“You know, I regret that we’ve had to do it, and not least that it follows on a period of time when there has been a big fall in the money available for adult skills,” she added.

Skills packages announced earlier this year include £625 million for construction skills and £182 million for the defence sector.

Smith explained that the essential skills review will look at what skills “people really need” across different sectors, “pinch points”, and predicted future needs.

When asked whether statutory entitlements to English and maths courses for adults will be reviewed, she responded: “They stand”.

The minister also said her recent appointment as a minister “astride” both the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education should send “actually quite an important message” about increased integration of skills and employment support.

Watch the full live stream recording on the EducationScape Youtube channel.

High Court rejects NAHT’s Ofsted report card judicial review plea

A union has been refused permission to launch a judicial review over new Ofsted report card inspections.

The National Association of Headteachers’ (NAHT) general secretary Paul Whiteman said they “will now consider an appeal and will be consulting our members on industrial action”.

The NAHT filed a claim for judicial review at the High Court in May, warning members feared the increase in the number of sub-judgements under new report cards “will only increase high-stakes accountability and pressure”.

The union opposed the report card proposals on legal grounds, “arguing that adequate consultation has not been conducted regarding the plan for a new five-point scale”.

Last month, the National Education Union and Association of School and College Leaders  announced they were supporting NAHT’s action, and would provide witness statements.

But it was today confirmed the High Court has declined NAHT’s request.

‘Not matters for the High Court’

The Honourable Mr Justice Saini, filing his decision on Monday, said “the merits of Ofsted’s report card grading system” and “its approach to the well-being issues raised, are not matters for this court”.

He said a judicial review court must ensure a public body “acts in accordance with the standards of procedural fairness the law requires, including not predetermining the outcome before consultation”.

“In my judgment. There was no arguable error on these matters.”

Mr Justice Saini argued that “the true complaint in this case concerns matters of policy choice and system design”.

He added it is “for Ofsted to decide how to conduct its inspections in the way which, in its expert judgment, is most effective, while taking account of the risk to the well-being of teaching staff and leaders. The evidence does not persuade me that its approach to these risks involved any arguable public law error.”

‘Disappointing decision’

NAHT general secretary Paul Whiteman described the decision as “disappointing”, but added the case “was always being brought forward on a very narrow point of law relating to the validity of Ofsted’s consultation process for their new framework.”

“The decision today doesn’t detract from our valid and reasonable concern about the damage to the mental health and wellbeing of leaders and staff of the new report cards,” he added.

“This is an acute and basic health and safety issue recognised by an independent report commissioned by Ofsted itself, which has not been dealt with at all.”

Whiteman claimed Both Ofsted and the government “have failed to address the very real risk posed by the new framework to leaders”.

Ofsted chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver (pictured) welcomed the High Court’s decision.

Ofsted had “consulted extensively” on its reforms, he added. New report card inspections are due to launch on November 10.

Oliver said report cards will be better for parents, “giving them more detailed and useful information about their child’s school, nursery or college. And, crucially, they will be better for children and older learners – helping to raise standards of education for all, particularly those who are disadvantaged or vulnerable.

“I have every confidence that headteachers will recognise the changes are fair, that inspection takes staff well-being fully into account, and that the whole experience is collaborative and constructive. 

“We will continue to engage constructively with all representative bodies as we roll-out our reforms.” 

Adult learning dips after post-pandemic boom

A post-pandemic boom in adults learning appears to have ended with a sharp dip in the last year, according to a think tank’s annual survey.

The adult participation in learning survey, carried out by Learning and Work Institute (L&W) every year since 1996, found that the number of people “currently” engaging with learning fell nine percentage points to 21 per cent when responding in June and July 2025.

While there has been a “sharp contraction” it is unclear whether this is a long-term downward trend or “a blip”, said L&W.

An analysis of think tank’s survey results suggests that the decline is “largely related” to fewer people participating in learning while at work.

Since last year, the number of full-time employed people engaging in learning also fell by 15 percentage points to 50 per cent.

L&W warns that rates of learning “cannot be left to languish” at current levels amid technological changes to work.

The benefits of learning for careers, health, social interaction and personal enrichment should also be “relentlessly promoted”, the think tank argues.

Boom and bust?

The survey results suggest adult learning participation increased in the UK and across many European countries after the pandemic.

The post-pandemic boom appears to have been partly driven by increased independent learning on online platforms such as YouTube videos, social media and using artificial intelligence.

This year was the first drop in this measure since the pandemic – in 2019 only 17 per cent of people said they were currently learning.

Since 2020, between 22 and 34 per cent of people reported they were currently learning when responding to L&W’s survey each summer.

The decline is also seen in L&W’s “participation rate” – a longer term measure that includes both people reporting engaging in learning currently or in the last three years.

This year, the participation rate was 42 per cent, a ten percentage point drop from a “high water mark” of 52 per cent in 2024.

In 2019, the participation rate hit a record low of 33 per cent before jumping to 44 per cent in 2021.

Trapped in work

Employed people are learning in “greatly reduced” numbers in the last year, the survey suggested.

Rates of full-time employees reporting learning in the last three years fell 15 percentage points to 65 per cent this year.

Currently, only one in five (21 per cent) of people report learning in work, although those paid over £52,200 per year are twice as likely to be receiving training as those earning less than £26,099.

This reveals the “two track character” of the UK labour market that traps “too many” on low-paid work, the report authors argue.

L&W said the increases in work-based learning in 2023 and 2024 could have been driven by increased hiring “acute recruitment challenges” which led to more hiring and training.

Since then, the labour market has cooled and vacancies have fallen.

But online opportunities

A long-term increase in independent learning driven by technology has almost always been associated with technology, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and online learning platforms.

The use of AI platforms such as Chat GPT has doubled to 31 per cent since 2023 and online learning platforms such as Classroom has risen three percentage points to 39 per cent.

L&W’s researchers believe increased reliance on self-directed learning should be considered against the backdrop of declining employer spending on training.

In the last two years, government figures suggest investment per employee fell £260 to £1,700 between 2022 and 2024, while spend per training dropped £540 to £2,710.

Inequalities self-perpetuating

L&W’s survey continues to find that those leaving school earlier, from lower social grades, earning lower incomes, or of an older age are all less likely to learn in any way.

About half (49 per cent) of people counted as “AB”, the highest of occupation-measured social grades, report learning in the last three years, compared to only a third of people in DE, the lowest grade.

Similarly, people who stay in full time education until age 21 or over report engaging in learning in the past three years, compared to only 23 per cent of those who left education aged 17 or 18.

“These inequalities are at risk of becoming self-perpetuating, with participation in learning increasing your likelihood of learning again in the future,” said the report.

However, learners continue to report a range of benefits including self-confidence, personal development, love of learning and jobs and skills.

‘Longest running’ of its kind

L&W believes the survey is the “longest running study of its kind”, taking a representative sample of around 5,000 people aged 17 and over from across the UK in July and August this year.

The think tank uses a “purposefully broad” definition of learning that includes practicing, studying or reading about something, as well as more traditional education and training.

However, the think tank warns that longer-term comparisons with pre-2021 data should be “treated with some caution” due to a shift to online surveys by the market research firms who conducted the survey.

This has raised “potential issues” around representation of older, disabled and digitally excluded adults that analysts have weighted in an attempt to make the sample representative of the UK population.

‘When adults learn, society thrives’

Stephen Evans, chief executive of Learning and Work Institute, said: “When adults learn, our society and economy thrive – and this message should ring true for the UK government, given its ambition in the post-16 education and skills white paper to ‘develop a skilled workforce and break down barriers to opportunity.’

“But today’s findings make clear the sheer scale of what needs to be achieved to get the nation learning.

“Government, employers and wider society all have a part to play in setting the country back on course: to increase adult participation in learning, and to close inequalities that harm the prospects and quality of life for so many people.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are committed to building a skills system that works for learners, employers, and the economy.

“That’s why we’re investing a record £3 billion in apprenticeships and cutting their minimum length so people with pre-existing training can secure a new career more quickly.

“Alongside this, our Get Britain Working reforms will boost employment by overhauling Jobcentres and providing personalised work and skills support to help people of all ages get into work under the Plan for Change.”

DfE names FE teacher training taskforce members

The Department for Education has created a 13-strong expert advisory group to help reform FE teacher training and development.

Anna Dawe (pictured), principal of Wigan and Leigh College, will lead the taskforce as chair.

She is joined by individuals who have “expertise and experience in the delivery of high-quality FE initial teacher education programmes, or with relevant academic research interests”.

It follows the recent launch of a call for evidence for “relevant, high-quality theory and knowledge” to underpin early career training for FE teachers, which will be considered by the group of experts who will then go on to recommend new statutory guidance for FE teaching programmes.

The consultation said the taskforce will aim to eradicate “contested or outdated theories” being taught to trainee FE lecturers, but stopped short of providing examples of such theories.

Government officials have taken steps to address “unacceptably poor quality” training in FE initial teacher education (ITE) in recent years, including by restricting access to the student finance system for private providers.

The DfE said it expects to publish new FE teacher training guidance ahead of the start of the 2026-27 academic year.

The 12 other members of the taskforce are:

NameInstitution/Organisation
Dr Sarah BoodtSheffield Hallam University
Jenifer Burden MBEGatsby Charitable Foundation
Pauline Hagen OBEAdviser to the FE Commissioner, DfE
Dr Katy HensbySouth Devon College; Chair of the Learning and Skills Teacher Trailblazer Group
Katie LuxtonEducation Endowment Foundation (EEF)
Olly NewtonEdge Foundation
James Noble-RogersUniversities’ Council for the Education of Teachers (UCET)
Professor Kevin OrrVisiting Professor, Huddersfield University
Tamara PierceMiddlesbrough College
Parisa ShiraziWorld Skills UK
Professor Samantha Twiselton OBEEmeritus Professor, Sheffield Hallam University
Dr Dan WilliamsUniversity of Derby

NAO: SEND transport cuts could increase NEETs

The UK’s spending watchdog has urged the government to improve its “insufficient” data collection on SEND transport amid risks that councils “scaling back” their post-16 provision could increase NEET numbers.

The National Audit Office (NAO) warned in a new report today that council cost pressures from providing transport for people up to age 25, which soared 106 per cent in real terms over an eight-year period, could place a “significant barrier” on participation in education and training, particularly for young people with SEND.

The Department for Education (DfE) told the NAO it is planning to make it mandatory for local authorities to routinely report home-to-education transport usage after one quarter failed to provide metrics on a voluntary basis.

The government estimates that around 50,000 post-16 learners receive council-funded transport, based on a data collection exercise back in February to 153 local authorities in England, published earlier this week.

But the estimates were based on a 75 per cent response rate, which extrapolated 16-25 population averages to estimate the number of eligible learners in the councils that didn’t respond.

DfE asked local authorities to categorise spending, pupil numbers and modes of transport according to the grounds on which a pupil was eligible for transport. 

The NAO said there were “differences” in how councils record the data, making it difficult to draw “firm” conclusions or make comparisons.

It also recommended DfE work with councils to increase the response rate and improve the accuracy and comparability of data and the systems they use

The NAO added: “[DfE] aims to make the collection mandatory in future years, but it is not yet known whether home-to-school transport metrics will feature in the local government outcomes framework – designed to measure progress against national priorities – which the government is currently consulting on.”

The final framework is expected to be published later this year.

Ruth Perry, senior policy manager at specialist college association Natspec, said: “There is clearly work to do here for DfE in improving the data set, particularly if it’s going to be used to support national policies as part of wider SEND reform.”

“The one key change we’d like to see is the statutory duty to provide transport support extended so that it brings into scope 16 – 18 year olds and 19 – 25 year olds with an EHCP. While there was once a logic to having age 16 as a cut-off point, it is now totally arbitrary and rationing access to transport support in this way, rather than by need or family circumstance, is no longer tenable,” Perry added. 

Last week, education secreary Bridget Phillipson revealed the schools white paper, which will set out reforms to the whole SEND system, has been delayed and will now be published “early in the new year”.

‘Reforms must address transport pressures’

Councils have increasingly struggled to allocate specialist provision for 166 per cent more children and young people with education, health and care plans (EHCPs) over the last decade.

There were around 639,000 children and young people up to age 25 with EHC plans as of January 2025.

Combined with young people travelling further to institutions that meet their specialist needs and needing single occupancy vehicles, like taxis, council spending on transport has soared.

Local authorities spend five times more on transport per child with SEND than on other children. In 2023-24, on average, transport for a child with SEND cost £8,116 compared with £1,526 for ‘mainstream transport’.

As a result, the NAO said the government’s current reforms to support more children with SEND in mainstream schools must address the home-to-school transport pressures.

But Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said he was “concerned” the national conversation about SEND learners has become focused on cost.

“Let’s be clear that these youngsters often require special school provision and home-to-school transport is vital in ensuring they are able to access that support,” he said.

He added: “We have to put the needs of these youngsters first and ensure that the SEND system and associated costs are sufficiently funded both now and in the future.”

NEETs will rise

Councils are not legally required to provide free transport for 16-18 learners or 19-25 aged learners with EHCPs, but can provide travel allowances, shared transport or personal travel budgets. Some have introduced parental financial contributions for council-arranged transport.

“There is no breakdown available on why local authorities provide transport for young people over the age of 16 as this is largely discretionary,” the report said.

The NAO urged DfE to work with councils to understand the impact of changes in policy for discretionary transport on, for example, attendance and NEET figures. 

Natspec is calling for the statutory duty to provide transport to be extended to 16 – 18-year-olds and 19 – 25-year-olds with an EHCP.

“While there was once a logic to having age 16 as a cut-off point, it is now totally arbitrary and rationing access to transport support in this way, rather than by need or family circumstance, is no longer tenable,” Perry said.

The NAO interviewed 10 local authorities who had all withdrawn or restricted free or subsidised transport for young people.

The report warned that where discretionary services have been cut, some students may miss out on learning, or parents may have to adjust work or give up work altogether to get their children to school or college.

“Yet there is currently insufficient data to judge how any changes to home-to-school transport might impact attendance,” the watchdog said.

Latest Office for National Statistics figures estimated 948,000 young people aged 16 to 24 were NEET, the highest rate since 2014. 

“The impact may be felt more by disabled children and young people, who tend to travel further to their educational setting, often cannot travel independently and may need to be in education or training for longer,” the report said.

Gareth Davies, head of the NAO, said: “For the children and young people that rely on local authority-provided transport to get them to school and college each day, it is an invaluable service. Without it, many may struggle to continue with their education. 

“Local authorities are making savings to meet their statutory duties, but they are looking to DfE’s upcoming SEND reforms to ensure the long-term sustainability of home to school transport.”

A Natspec survey last year of 66 specialist colleges found nearly two-thirds (65 per cent) of colleges said transport issues had resulted in some learners with SEND being unable to attend college or attending intermittently.

An FE Week investigation found cases of disabled students neglected by council-arranged taxi drivers after the survey found four in 10 of colleges thought the transport was unsafe.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “This government inherited a SEND system on its knees, with thousands of families struggling to secure the right support.  

“Work is already underway to make sure more children with SEND can achieve and thrive at their local school alongside their peers – including investing £740 million to create more specialist school places and increasing access to early support for speech and language needs.

“We’ll set out the full Schools White Paper in the new year, building on the work we’ve already done to create a system that’s rooted in inclusion, where children receive high-quality support early on and at a school close to home.”