Recommendation 24

The ESFA told us that some amounts that were originally given as loans then had to be converted to grants because not enough work had been done at the outset to assess whether there was a realistic expectation of repayment. It explained, however, that if a college did not have the capacity to repay debts, emergency funding had to be given as a grant in order for the college to continue to provide for learners.43 It also said that emergency funding was now subject to stronger governance arrangements, involving HM Treasury, which included an assessment of value for money.44