Select committee: Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 15
Thirty-Eighth Report - Managing colleges’ financial sustainability
Published 27 Jan 2021
Addressed to HM Treasury
Public Accounts Committee Managing colleges’ financial sustainability All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
T levels combine classroom learning and ‘on-the-job’ experience during a work placement of around 45 days (20% of the overall time) over the two-year course.26 Committee Members have heard from college principals about difficulties in recruiting students, largely because of the challenge of securing enough work placements, and 17 Q 84 18 C&AG’s Report, para 11 and Figure 8 19 Q 69; C&AG’s Report, para 2.20 20 Sixth Form Colleges Association, Sixth Form Colleges: 2020 Key Facts and Figures, June 2020 21 Q 70; ESFA, College accounts academic year 2018 to 2019, June 2020 22 Q 69 23 Department for Education, Introduction of T Levels, September 2020 24 Q 73; Department for Education, T Levels: ministerial direction, May 2018 25 Qq 60–61; Department for Education, Introduction of T Levels, September 2020 26 Department for Education, Introduction of T Levels, September 2020; https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/students/ about Managing colleges’ financial sustainability 11 their consequent fears about colleges losing income. This situation had been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic as it was difficult for students to undertake physical work placements and the ESFA would not accept virtual work placements.27
From: Public Accounts Committee, Thirty-Eighth Report - Managing colleges’ financial sustainability (HC 692), 27 January 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 26 March 2021.
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government states that it "agrees with the Committee's recommendation" on each of the seven recommendations in the response, with target implementation dates given for several.
- On VAT, it agrees with the recommendation and says the department will "explore the potential routes and efficacy" of it with HMRC, and will engage HMRC/HM Treasury "to gauge ministers' appetite" for changing or implementing legislation (target date: August 2021).
- On funding based on student numbers, the department says it is "currently developing a consultation" on how a change to the college funding formula could help, and is "considering the advantages, disadvantages and possibilities" of a system based on real time activity.
- On intervention, it will consult sector stakeholders to "review and publish an update" to its college oversight support and intervention policy in May 2021, and the Committee will be provided with a copy.
- On T Level work placements, the department will write to the Committee in July 2021 setting out what assurances it has that there will be enough industry placements, and the impact of COVID-19 on their availability.