Funding flexibilities for adult learning providers Friday, February 5, 2010 - 16:38

Members of NIACE's Further Education Advisory Group attending a NIACE event - on Thursday 4 February 2010 - discovered that the government's Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11 details increased provider autonomy, a detail which has not been picked up in the sector as widely as had been anticipated.

Discussions concerning the transition of funding from the Learning and Skills Council to the Skills Funding Agency, led to the discovery of an important message buried deep within the government's strategy paper that had not reached all its intended audiences.

Column two, page 29 of the Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11, states:

"all institutions, except new/poor performing ones will be granted full virement flexibilities within (although not between) their Employer Responsive and Adult Learner Responsive budgets, so that, for example, they will receive a single budget for Train to Gain and Apprenticeships set within national funding priorities."

This change, to take effect from 2010-2011, will allow providers to improve their planning in the knowledge that flexibility (for example between Train to Grain and Apprenticeship provision) is possible.