Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he will take to ensure smaller further education institutions are treated equitably in their applications for transformation funding.
All further education (FE) colleges and designated institutions in England were invited to apply to stage 1 of the two stage FE Capital Transformation Fund in January 2021, by setting out proposals for investment to tackle poor condition across their estates.
Stage 1 of the bidding process closed on 22 March and the department is assessing bid applications. All applications will be assessed on their own merits against the criteria and process set out in the published stage 1 guidance. Applications which meet the funds criteria will be prioritised for invitation to stage 2 of the bidding process based on the level of condition need addressed. The methodology used for prioritising applications at stage 1 was developed so that all colleges, regardless of size, are treated equitably.