Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 15 January 2019 to Question 207155 on Adult Education, what steps his Department is taking to increase participation rates in adult education courses.

For the 2018/19 academic year, we will be supporting those in work on low incomes to access the Adult Education Budget (AEB) through the introduction of a new one-year trial which allows providers to fully fund eligible learners on low wages. This will directly support social mobility by enabling those that have been motivated to move out of unemployment and are low paid/skilled, to further progress. Early results suggest that this is attracting new/additional learners and we are reviewing whether it will be extended to cover the 2019/20 academic year.

Community Learning plays a vital role within AEB provision, it provides an accessible way of progressing to further learning, training or employment and is mainly non-formal non-accredited learning which supports access to further adult education, particularly for disadvantaged adult learners.

It is funded in a way that enables providers to meet the needs of disadvantaged learners; for example, by running smaller classes, by responding quickly to local needs, by offering more intensive support, and by holding classes in community venues, such as community centres, schools and libraries. This encourages adult learners, who may not be suited to more formal learning at this point in their lives, to participate in community and family learning and begin their learning journey.

We also provide full funding for learners who need English and Maths skills to undertake a range of courses in GCSEs, Functional Skills and stepping stone qualifications from entry level to level 2. From 2020, selected basic digital skills courses will also be fully funded.

From 2019/20 academic year, approximately 50% of the AEB will be devolved to 6 Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West of England) and delegated to the Greater London Authority (GLA). The MCAs and GLA will be responsible for commissioning and funding AEB provision for learners resident in their areas. However, they must ensure access and funding for the statutory entitlements, including the new digital entitlement, to enable eligible learners to be fully funded. The Education and Skills Funding Agency will be responsible for funding learners resident in non-devolved areas.

We are also introducing the National Retraining Scheme, which is an ambitious, far-reaching programme to drive adult learning and retraining. It will help people respond to changes in the economy and support them to progress in work, redirect their careers and secure the higher-paid, higher-skilled jobs of the future, focusing on those individuals that need it most.

To inform the design of the scheme, the Flexible Learning Fund is supporting 31 pilot projects across England with a total value of £11.4 million. The projects are designing and testing innovative, flexible learning that is easy to access, and the best ways to reach working adults and incentivise them to train.

Apprenticeships benefit people of all ages and backgrounds such as people with children returning to part-time work and needing to re-train. 41% of starts in 2017/18 have been by those aged 25 and over.