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12 April 2026

Tag: FE

Special Westminster debate on apprenticeship cuts tomorrow

A special Westminster Hall debate called by campaigning MP David Lammy into FE Week’s exclusive revelations on apprenticeship funding cuts takes place tomorrow morning. The debate approved by the House of Commons Backbench Business Committee, which will run from 9.30am until 11am, will see apprenticeship and skills minister Robert Halfon answering tough questions on the […]

Cost of Digital Apprenticeship Service revealed

The government expects to spend at least £12.5m on delivering its new Digital Apprenticeship Service, FE Week can reveal. The budget will cover both costs to the Skills Funding Agency and suppliers of services such as web development and user research, according to the Department for Education. A DfE spokesperson told FE Week: “The cost of building […]

Rise in SFA contracts for small providers

Plans to cut the number of recipients of Skills Funding Agency cash have been shelved in an attempt to increase the provider base for degree and higher-level apprenticeships, and advanced learner loans. A total of 1,023 providers received direct SFA funding this academic year, up from 984 at the start of 2015/16. The SFA first attempted to introduce a […]

Apprenticeship funding ‘u-turn’ – but how far does it really go?

Despite the very public “U-turn” the government made on proposed apprenticeship cuts on Tuesday, funding is still due to be cut from key frameworks by up to 50 per cent, exclusive analysis by FE Week has shown. In August, this newspaper discovered that cuts proposed by the Department for Education would cause framework funding rates […]

FE Commissioner backs widening of area reviews

A post-16 review of sixth forms outside of the FE sector would be “very helpful”, the FE Commissioner has told the Education Select Committee. Sir David Collins spoke out on the issue this morning, during a special evidence session for the committee’s enquiry in to ongoing area reviews of post-16 education, which currently do not […]

Insolvency regime plans in new Technical and Further Education Bill

A new Technical and Further Education Bill published today has set out proposals for a new insolvency regime for FE colleges. The legislation also includes a proposal to extend the role of new vocational training policing body, the Institute for Apprenticeships, to cover technical education. The plan, it confirmed, is now is to call it the Institute […]

Still pushing for apprenticeship reforms clarity

Karin Smyth MP reflects on key issues with apprenticeship reforms that the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee is pushing for more information on. Post 16 education is vitally important to the UK, and to my Bristol South constituency. It’s always one of the issues raised with me by parents, carers and grandparents, and that’s […]

Four changes in the apprenticeship announcements you need to know

This morning FE Week was the first to report that the Department for Education had released documents confirming the level of funding for apprenticeships from May 1, 2017. Click here. The three week consultation on the provisional proposals began on the August 12 and had 892 responses, but the government had feedback via other means including […]

Final levels of apprenticeship funding revealed

This morning the government released an update to their apprenticeship reform plans, including final levels of funding for new framework and standards starts from May 1, 2017. Click here to read. The latest information first appeared in a ministerial statement here, and follows a three week consultation on provisional plans that was published in August. Final funding levels announced […]