Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government when they will provide timelines and guidance for the procurement process to support strategic planning and ensure uninterrupted delivery for the 2025–26 Skills Bootcamp funding.

Skills Bootcamps are an important offer in the skills landscape and, in the longer term, the department intends to fund Skills Bootcamps through funding Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and local areas directly. Placing local areas in control of the delivery of all Skills Bootcamps will support better outcomes for learners and employers, with provision based on local need and directed by local knowledge and insights.

At present Skills Bootcamps remain available for learners via national contracts and grant funding in local areas. Existing national contracts remain in place until the end of their term.

The department is not planning any more competitions for national delivery of Skills Bootcamps. National providers have been informed of these changes and we will provide further information on contract extensions and variations in due course.

We will encourage providers to work with their local MCA or Local Enterprise Partnership to find out more about how they can work with them to deliver adult skills training.