Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Accepted
Create Skills Co-ordination Board by April 2026 to oversee regional adult education strategies.
Recommendation
We recommend that the Department for Education and Skills England create a Skills Co-ordination Board by April 2026. Local areas must be given the flexibility to develop and implement their own tailor-made strategies on adult education and training; the purpose of the Skills Co- ordination Board therefore would be to oversee and co-ordinate regional strategies with national sector needs across the increasingly devolved skills landscape. The Skills Co-ordination Board would be responsible for driving quality of skills services in each region and ensuring there is consistency of effectiveness across local areas and no area is left behind. (Recommendation, Paragraph 64) Post-16 qualifications and pathways
Government response summary AI-generated
The government highlights Skills England's existing role as a key driver for a high-functioning skills system, supporting integration and informing skills needs, and states that devolution and Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are the mechanisms for coordinating regional strategies with national sector needs. It does not commit to creating a new Skills Co-ordination Board.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
NOT TAKEN FORWARD. We will seek to leverage and strengthen existing mechanisms. Where MSAs are in receipt of funding via an Integrated Settlement they are responsible for ensuring delivery is on track, ambitious, and offers value for money, in line with the English Devolution Accountability Framework, which applies to those Strategic Authorities without an Integrated Settlement. Oversight is provided by a Programme Board, chaired by MHCLG officials and attended by MSAs, HMT, and relevant central government departments. The Programme Board is the main contact point for delivery-related issues, with bilateral discussions allowed for specific policy area. While the intention to improve coordination and consistency across the devolved skills landscape is understood, the creation of a new national board would be: Duplicative of existing governance and assurance mechanisms. Counterintuitive to the principles of devolution, which prioritise local autonomy, flexibility, and place-based leadership. Inconsistent with the streamlined accountability model already being implemented under the Integrated Settlements. Rather than creating a new Skills Coordination Board, Skills England will seek to leverage and strengthen existing mechanisms which include, for example, the establishment of Sub-Group for Place reporting to the Skills England Board and the regular meeting of the Chair of Skills England and the Metro Mayors. This approach: Aligns with the government’s commitment to devolution and place-based leadership. Avoids unnecessary duplication. Ensures strategic coordination and accountability through streamlined, outcome-driven governance.
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