Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with (a) local authorities and (b) other stakeholders on delays to the Harrogate College rebuild, in the context of the ongoing judicial review in relation to the planning application for that project.

The Harrogate College project was awarded funding from the further education capital transformation fund (FE CTF), and the college capital loans scheme (CCLS), to improve the condition of the building. Under the terms of the FE CTF grant, projects needed to be completed by December 2024, and for the loan, final drawdowns were required by March 2025. We understand that the project will now not be able to meet these terms due to unforeseen planning delays.

The department’s capital funding for the 2025/26 financial year will be confirmed at the 30 October Budget. Capital funding beyond this period is subject to a multi-year spending review which will conclude in spring 2025.

Payment of grant and drawdown of loan funding is done in arrears, based on evidence of spend submitted by the college, so disbursement of the funding to colleges awarded grants through the FE CTF or loans through the CCLS does not begin until works start on their capital projects.

All bids to the FE CTF were assessed against a range of criteria, including whether they would support delivery of both national and local skills priorities, aligning with the local skills improvement plans.

Departmental officials have regular discussions with Luminate Education Group about their capital projects, including Harrogate College, to keep the department appraised of developments.