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12 April 2026

Tag: funding

The funding consultation doesn’t tackle our biggest challenges – but there’s hope

FE desperately needs simplified funding lines but this consultation must go further, writes Marguerite Hogg It didn’t seem like the best time of year to launch a government consultation when most of the college sector was trying to get a summer break. However, the Department for Education’s second funding and accountability consultation launched at the […]

The government’s FE policy is dangerously wishful thinking

Government rhetoric not rooted in reality will cause colleges to choose the easy options, writes Ian Pryce As a fan of country music, the untimely death of Nashville-based singer-songwriter Nanci Griffith gave me an excuse to play all her old albums. She never achieved great fame because she championed traditional American folk music, rather than […]

East London UTC’s future ‘uncertain’ as DfE fails to approve expansion

The future of another university technical college (UTC) hangs in the balance despite receiving emergency funding.  East London UTC was slapped with its second financial notice to improve last month, after getting a £375,000 government bailout last year when it also chalked up a £1.8 million deficit. Its latest accounts for 2019/20 show the Department […]

College starved of cash shuts award winning training restaurant

A college has been forced to shut the doors of its prestigious restaurant, blaming years of government cuts to further education funding. Lancashire-based Runshaw College announced today its award-winning Foxholes Restaurant in Leyland is to close after running for more than 30 years. The restaurant functioned as a training centre for future chefs and catering […]

Treasury took back over £300m despite small employers being turned away

The government has for the first time admitted the vast majority of the £400 million underspend from the Department for Education’s apprenticeship budget was taken back by the Treasury. In an interview with FE Week editor Nick Linford, the skills minister Anne Milton was asked how much cash the Treasury clawed back in the financial […]

Revealed: The 34 colleges with £270m of government loans and bailouts last year

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) has revealed the colleges with millions in government loans and bailouts. According to documents released by the ESFA and analysed by FE Week, a total of 34 colleges across the country received £270 million in Exceptional Financial Support and Restructuring Funding loans and grants by July 2018. This […]

Scrap funding rule that stops providers from transferring their unspent levy, says UEL

A university has called for the scrapping of an apprenticeship funding rule that stops them from using unspent levy funds to support local businesses. The University of East London delivers apprenticeships to large employers, but after missing out on a non-levy allocation they have to turn small employers away. One solution would be to share […]

Fully fund level 3 to 5 training in ‘skills shortage areas’, AoC proposes

The adult education budget should be used to fully fund training at levels three to five in skills shortage areas once the UK has left the EU, the Association of Colleges has urged. It’s one of a number of recommendations put forward in a new report, ‘Developing a Four Nations Colleges Blueprint for a post-Brexit […]