Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Accepted
We are concerned that continuing financial pressures and workforce challenges are hampering colleges’ ability to...
Recommendation
We are concerned that continuing financial pressures and workforce challenges are hampering colleges’ ability to play a full part in the skills system. Colleges play an important role in reaching disadvantaged groups and giving people opportunities they would not otherwise have to develop their skills. In January 2021, we reported that there was clear evidence of the college sector’s financial fragility and that the situation was affecting students. We found that financial pressures had caused some colleges to narrow their curriculum and reduce the length of courses. Some colleges had significantly reduced enrichment activities, such as careers advice and employability activities. We are also concerned about colleges’ ability to recruit and retain teaching staff. DfE recognises that pay in the college sector will often not compete with pay in relevant industries, but highlights that the 2021 Spending Review increased funding for skills by £2.8 billion. It is considering how to give colleges greater funding certainty, and is working with the sector on initiatives such as supporting people who want to teach part-time and work in industry part-time. Recommendation: Within six months, DfE should provide us with an update on how it is helping colleges deal with the challenges relating to workforce shortages and funding arrangements.
Government Response Summary
The government will provide an additional £1.6 billion for 16-19 year olds education, uplift funding rates, increase cost weighting for specific subjects, address uneven monthly payments to colleges, and invest in direct support for the FE sector including bursaries and recruitment campaigns.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation Recommendation implemented 5.2 The government has made available an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19-year-olds education in 2024-25 financial year, compared with 2021-22. The department is using part of this increase to uplift 16-19-year-olds funding rates for 2023-24 academic year. As well as a base rate increase of 2.2%, the department is increasing the cost weighting for engineering, construction and digital subjects to help providers with the additional costs of recruiting and retaining teachers in these subject areas – where providers are facing some of the greatest workforce challenges. 5.3 To help colleges manage their cashflow, the department is addressing the historical issue of uneven monthly payments from central government, which leave colleges out of pocket by March every year. The department will invest £300 million before the end of the 2022-23 financial year in bringing forward payments. This will smooth out the funding for a new even profile for colleges from 2023 to 2024 for both the 16-19-year-old and adult education budgets. 5.4 The department is also investing in a package of direct support for the FE sector in 2022-23 to assist with the recruitment, retention and development of teachers. This includes bursaries worth up to £26,000, a recruitment campaign, initial teacher education reforms, and the Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme to support industry professionals to become FE teachers.