Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the Adult Skills Fund to cover learning (a) primarily and (b) solely for leisure purposes.

The government has devolved and delegated approximately 60% of the adult skills fund (ASF) to the 9 Mayoral Combined Authorities of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Greater Manchester, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West of England, West Yorkshire and the Greater London Authority. The authorities are now responsible for the provision of adult education and allocation of the ASF in their local areas and it is for them to decide how they wish to prioritise funding.

In the remainder of England, the department continues to be responsible for adult skills funding. Within the ASF, the department will not fund provision where the primary or sole intent of the learning is for leisure.

The government has to take difficult decisions on where to prioritise funding. Given the economic and social challenges in the country, it is right that the primary purpose of the ASF is to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning. The ASF also supports wider outcomes including improving health and wellbeing, equipping parents and carers to support their child’s learning and developing stronger and more integrated communities.