HERTFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

EDUCATION AND SKILLS CABINET PANEL

TUESDAY 15 MARCH 2011 AT 2.00 PM

ADULT AND COMMUNITY LEARNING

Report of the Director Children Schools and Families

Author: Jane Rouse, Head of Hertfordshire, Adult and Family Learning Service. (Tel: 01992 555482)

Executive Member:Richard Thake, Education & Skills

  1. Purpose of report

To inform the Education Panel of current policy developments within adult and community learning and the possible implications for the Local Authority and local communities across Hertfordshire.

  1. Summary
  • The reduction in public expenditure means that the level of government funding available for learning opportunities for adults will be reduced over the next 4 years.
  • The reduction in the criteria for fee concessions means that more learners will be expected to contribute financially to their learning.
  • Learning providers will be expected to increase their income through greater fee collection that enables cross subsidies for disadvantaged learners.
  • As a largely subcontracting Learning Provider Hertfordshire Adult and Family Learning Service (HAFLS) is not able to collect fee income and has limited opportunities to seek other income streams.
  • The introduction of a new tendering process for contracting with the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) will lead to a new competitive environment in which Local Authorities will have to compete with other learning providers for funding.

3.Recommendations

Members are asked to note that officers intend to review the current delivery model of Adult and Community Learning, in the light of national policy developments and reform.

4.Background

4.1The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) contracts annually with the County Council for the delivery of Adult and Community Learning. The value of the 2010/11 contract is £2.8 million with a target of 13,000 learners. The service has a direct delivery team which delivers family learning courses. All other provision is subcontracted to other learning providers. Current subcontractors include the 4 Hertfordshire colleges, University of Hertfordshire, voluntary and community organisations, Libraries and Herts Music Service.

4.2The national allocation for the Safeguard budget (composed of 4 of HAFLS funding streams) has been frozen for the next two years. Other funding streams that HAFLS receives are at risk. Adult and Community Learning providers will be given an indicative allocation in January 2011, for the year 2011/12, which will be confirmed by the 31 March 2011.

4.3The Adult Single Skills budget, accessed by Colleges and work based training providers in Hertfordshire, will be reduced by 25% over the next 4 years. As, the emphasis will be on delivering qualifications for 16-18 year old and apprenticeships this will impact on the availability of learning opportunities for adults. Moreover the criterion for fee remission is to become narrower next year, reducing the population eligible for reduced fees.

4.4The introduction, this year, of a new tendering process for SFA funding will open up the market for learning providers, introducing a more competitive environment, whilst at the same time the Skills Funding Agency is seeking to reduce the number of organisations with whom they contract through the introduction of minimum contract levels. It is anticipated that the reduction of the number of organisations, with whom the SFA contracts, will lead to efficiency savings through reducing the SFA contract management costs and economies of scale as the funding is channelled through a smaller number of larger providers. Learning providers are expected to increase their other sources of income through diversification, partnership work and increased fees paid by learners.

4.5The Government has begun a period of reforming adult and community learning with the intention of developing a new model for delivery. The consultation process will begin in February 2011. It is anticipated that new policy proposals will be presented to ministers in autumn this year. Whilst we do not know what the final outcomes of the process will be we do know that the government is looking for a model of adult and community learning that supports the development of the Big Society, motivates and engages disadvantaged groups and creates progression pathways towards the wider learning continuum, including skills-focused learning and employment. The new model would also need to maximise fee income from people who can afford to pay in order to increase cross subsidising and “reach” disadvantaged groups. The new model for Adult and Community Learning will be subject to robust audit processes, transparent success measures and measured against agreed value for money criteria.

4.6The changes outlined above, combined with Public Service reform, are leading to many local authorities exploring new models for the delivery of Adult and Community Learning.

5.Financial Implications

The full impact of the new SFA tendering process is yet to be tested. However it is likely that in the longer term it will lead to increased competition which could lead to the County Council receiving a reduced contract with the SFA or even loose the contract. This would incur redundancy costs for the County Council.

Background Papers

Skills for Sustainable Growth published by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills November 2010

Investing in Skills for Sustainable Growth published by the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills November 2010

150311 Adult and Community Learning report

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