AEB | FE Week - Part 3

AELP appoints a devolution director to represent independent training providers

The “real fear” that independent training providers wouldn’t get “representation around the table” in adult education budget devolution has prompted the Association of Employment and Learning Providers to appoint its first devolution director. Harminder Matharu takes up her post on December 19, just two days before bids are due in the Greater London Authority’s tender […]

Fears over ‘market instability’ in rush to roll out AEB devolution

The rushed timeframe ahead of next year’s devolution of the adult education budget means providers will struggle to “hit the ground running” next August and may lead to “market instability”, an expert has said. The warning comes as the first combined authorities are gearing up to start their tender process this month, with contracts due […]

Stop fighting over the crumbs of the adult education budget!

There’s no point in principals squabbling over the crumbs of the AEB, writes Ewart Keep, who wants the sector to take devolution much more seriously It has not taken long for some in FE to fall into the trap that central government set for localities when it decided to “devolve” the adult education budget (AEB). […]

Londoners on less than the living wage of £19,890 can access free training next year

Adults in the capital who earn less than the London living wage will have their training fully funded from 2019/20. The commitment was revealed this morning at the launch of the mayor’s new Skills for Londoners plan. It follows an announcement made by Education and Skills Funding Agency last week that low-paid workers across the […]

Demands for fairness after ESFA sets aside £2.6m in Somerset tender

The launch of a £2.6 million tender by the Education and Skills Funding Agency to deliver community learning services in Somerset has prompted demands for fairness and reform to the procurement process over the apparent special treatment. The invitation to tender, published May 31, follows a campaign by community learning provider Somerset Skills and Learning […]

Mayor of London blames DfE for having to top-slice AEB

The Greater London Authority is locked in a war of words with the government over Sadiq Khan’s plan to top-slice £3 million from the adult education budget to cover the costs of devolution. The Department for Education insisted it had awarded the GLA “sufficient funds to prepare”, having provided £235,139 in “implementation funding” between September […]

The new prime providers who struck gold in the first AEB tender

There were many winners to emerge from the AEB procurement, including two new prime providers which each received more than £1 million. Top of the list of first-time primes is London-based Free to Learn, which has £2 million for November to July next year. Its chief commercial officer was bullish about the company’s ability to […]

It’s time to rebuild the AEB process

This year’s adult education budget has been a debacle, according to Mark Dawe, who wants the whole process substantially rethought and redesigned to avoid underspending on one hand and underfunding on the other There’s no denying that the recent tender process for the independent training providers’ £110 million share of the £1.5 billion adult education […]

Training providers join forces to challenge Justine Greening in court

A group of leading training providers is gearing up for collective action against the government’s adult education budget procurement process, FE Week can reveal. The coalition is made up of organisations which say they’ve suffered financial loss and damage to their business as a result of the recent tender – and they believe they have sufficient […]