Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the benefits, and (2) the disadvantages, of the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s lagged funding mechanism in assisting businesses to have a pipeline of employees with the skills they need to help the economy to build back better after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The skills for jobs white paper sets out how the department would place employers at the heart of local skills systems by leading the development of new Local Skills Improvement Plans. Through this, employers will be able to articulate their skills needs, and colleges and other providers will be able to reshape their provision in response.

We have recently launched an extensive government consultation on reforms to the further education funding and accountability system, including how funding is calculated. This consultation is a first step for a funding and accountability system that will maximise the potential of further education and help us build back better. We want to use the consultation to open a dialogue with the sector, employers, and other interested parties on how government funding can be administered more simply and effectively, so that colleges and other providers can focus on supporting students to develop the skills needed by employers and local labour markets. The consultation will run up to 7 October 2021.