Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Colleges’ autonomy means that, for example, government does not have the power to appoint or...
Conclusion
Colleges’ autonomy means that, for example, government does not have the power to appoint or remove college staff. Colleges can borrow commercially, and they may make financial surpluses or deficits.35 We asked the ESFA whether its intervention powers were adequate. The ESFA said that the combined efforts of its teams and the FE Commissioner ought to be enough, given the funding contracts it had with colleges, so long as they could maintain dialogue. It was, however, theoretically possible for a college to “bury its head in the sand” and to keep the ESFA away until the last minute.36 The Department stressed the importance of supporting good college leaders to make improvements and of building a sector that could sustain itself as far as possible.37
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
6: PAC conclusion: The Department’s, the ESFA’s and the Further Education Commissioner’s approach to intervention takes too long, costs too much and is not effective in making colleges more sustainable. 6: PAC recommendation: The Department should set out within three months what actions it plans to take to improve its intervention arrangements, and how it will assess the success of these actions. 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: May 2021 6.2 The department will consult with sector stakeholders to review and publish an update to its college oversight: support and intervention policy in May 2021. This will set out the Education and Skills Funding Agency’s role as Regulator for the department, in respect of securing compliance and taking intervention action, and address the recommendations made the Committee, and those identified in the Independent Review of College Financial Oversight conducted by Dame Mary Ney DBE, published in July 2020. The Committee will be provided with a copy of the updated policy.