Cornwall Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2025
Debate between Baroness Blake of Leeds and Lord Jamieson
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I thank noble Lords for their responses. I turn first to the comments of the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, about the consultations. They have been widely considered. I was interested in what he said about the West Midlands; it was quite an interesting response. In the east Midlands, the consultation was held between November 2022 and January 2023, and although there was support, the noble Lord was quite right to ask why there was opposition. Among those who responded who were against the proposal, only two stakeholder responses included an element of opposition to the proposal on skills. One stakeholder made a general point of opposition without specifying why. This is part of the problem. There could be a whole raft of reasons behind that, and we need to understand the identity of the people, which of course is not always possible. Another felt that adult education below level 4 would be underfunded, and 29 responses expressed opposition to the proposals relating to skills. Apart from the general statements of disagreement, other comments questioned whether the proposals were realistic and therefore achievable, while some felt that they would lead to larger cities being prioritised at the expense of smaller towns, villages and remote areas. That is part of the discussion. From my experience of places where combined authorities are set up, there are discussions about whether funding is equitably spread and everyone has opportunities.
On measuring outcomes and success, the noble Lord, Lord Shipley, raised some interesting and quite specific points. By way of anecdote, when we had responsibility for delivering growth deals the first time the skills funding was brought down, the performance was off the scale in terms of sustainable outcomes for young people. It is by building on those successes in other areas that we can take our way forward, but the noble Lord is absolutely right in saying that we need to keep a close eye on this and make sure that there is consistency running through all areas. I know that local areas will be the first to highlight any problems coming forward.
To be clear, in all three areas that we are talking about, at least 60% of respondents approved of the proposals. Putting those two elements together, we have to be careful that we do not bring in an onerous regime that is too complex for all partners to be assessed. As everyone will quite rightly understand, the areas are looking at the comments that they have had, and they will be very mindful of them as we move forward into delivery.
On pursuing the level of accountability, once funding is devolved each local area will be required to demonstrate impact and value for money, ensuring that funding is effectively targeted to boost local skills and development. The accountability arrangements for devolved organisations are set out in the English Devolution Accountability Framework, which includes a requirement for devolved areas to publish annual assurance reports and to attend the skills stocktake for the Department for Education. It is a very important development around the setting up of Skills England, and I know it will be very keen to have oversight of the developments going forward.
The noble Lord, Lord Jamieson, was quite right to question the funding. I think that we all know the answer. Every area has been asked to look at that because of the severe funding problems across the piece. The reduction is 3% compared to other areas, so we have to agree that a substantial amount of funding is still going in. Some £1.4 billion will still be invested in the adult skills fund. The questions that the noble Lord raised were brought up in the other place, and Neil O’Brien, who raised some of the concerns, got a full answer from the Minister on this point. In particular, it was stated that the vast majority of funding will be for local discretion. That was his point: making sure that it is not a top-down approach—which, as we know, is what works.
That goes to the other question about making sure that all the key partners are involved. All areas will look at best practice from other areas where this has worked successfully. It is the ability to bring together relevant stakeholders at a local level. Obviously, there is the funding regime, but the combined authority working with constituent local authorities and bringing together the providers of further education and adult education with business, as well as with the people who will benefit from the services, will enable them to predict the needs of local areas.
Lord Jamieson (Con)
Just to clarify, the Minister very kindly said that the vast majority would be down to local decision-making. From that, can we take it that the existing programmes—which are, if you like, centrally directed—are very much the significant minority, and therefore the bulk of the funding will be locally decided? I am happy for her to answer in writing.
Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)
I can absolutely do that. Statutory duties will be expected, but I think that we can all be very pleased to know that the balance is genuinely being devolved down to other areas.
On accountability again, I am really excited about the development of Skills England and particularly how it will further develop the accountability framework going forward. It helps to set up a form of a coherent picture, so that there is an umbrella view and something to badge the progress against. It will of course shape technical education, which is another area of concern, through the growth and skills levy, particularly given, as we have all commented on, local areas being able to listen to the businesses in the area and anticipate the demands that come forward.
I will pick up on some figures. The devolved areas in existence have, for example, spent £127 million or 16% of funding on statutory functions, leaving 84% for them to spend on other priorities. That sort of analysis will move the agenda forward and is a real boost of confidence for local areas. Nothing could be more important than enabling growth of the economy in local areas, but particularly growth for a purpose, if you like, so that the local people within those areas fully benefit.
With those comments, I thank noble Lords for their contributions to the debate. We have these three areas going through at the moment and several more coming down the line. That will be another opportunity to look at progress and how we are delivering on the ground. We know the challenges that face us and how important it is to have a skilled, flexible workforce and to support all adults to become an active part of that workforce to deliver our growth agenda.
Transferring these adult skills functions and devolving funding to the local areas of Cornwall, East Midlands, York and North Yorkshire will help to ensure that adult education provision is tailored to local needs and will create the best conditions in which we can collectively deliver on these aims.