Further Education: Finance

(asked on 12th February 2019) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in the level of funding on the financial sustainability of the further education sector.


Answered by
Anne Milton Portrait
Anne Milton
This question was answered on 18th February 2019

We are examining the trends in the level of funding for further education in considering the funding and resilience of further education and in assessing how far existing and forecast funding and regulatory structures enable high quality provision. We recognise that some of the key areas of funding have not kept up with costs and we will continue to look carefully at these issues in preparation for the next Spending Review and in the light of the recommendations of the Post-18 Review.

We have protected the base rate of funding for all 16 to 19 year old students until 2020 and plan to invest nearly £7 billion this academic year to make sure that there is a place in education or in training, including for apprenticeships, for every 16 to 19 year old. We are investing in education for adult learners, including for those furthest from learning and the labour market. We are continuing to provide Advanced Learner Loans, which is an established part of the Further Education funding framework and a key source of provider income. We are also doubling the amount of funding available for apprenticeships in England (in cash terms) by 2019-20 when compared with actual levels of spend in 2010-11. This includes funding for both 16-19 and adult apprenticeships.

From 1 April 2016 to 31 January 2019, as part of the area review programme, we made approximately £470 million available to support major college restructuring, supporting significant improvements to financial sustainability in the sector.

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