Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the impact on local economies of the number of people undertaking adult learning at FE colleges.

The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB). This budget totals £1.34 billion in the 2022/23 financial year. The AEB fully funds, or co-funds, skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3 qualifications. This supports adults to gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

In 2022/23 the government has devolved approximately 60% of the AEB to 9 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Mayor of London, acting where appropriate through the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are now responsible for the provision of AEB-funded adult education for their residents and allocation of the AEB to providers. Devolution enables MCAs and the GLA to use the AEB to shape education and skills provision in a way that best fits the needs of their residents and local economy.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency is responsible for funding learners in England that are resident outside the devolved areas. In 2021/22, 1,007,400 learners participated in AEB-funded learning.

The Unit for Future Skills is supporting decision making at the local level, including the development of Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) , by providing information on local employment and skills in a single, accessible place via a public dashboard. The dashboard provides up to date data on learners undertaking further education (FE) courses, local jobs and employment, and local enterprises. This can be accessed here:https://department-for-education.shinyapps.io/local-skills-dashboard/.

The LSIPs place employers at the heart of local skills systems and facilitate direct and more dynamic working arrangements between employers, FE colleges and other skills providers. Once developed, LSIPs will set out the priorities for a local area to make technical education and skills training more responsive to employers’ needs and to help people develop the skills they need to get good jobs.