AoC CPD session for staff College funding Julian Gravatt, AoC Assistant Chief Executive 21 April

What you need to know Three areas 1.Where colleges get the money from government 2. Key issues, main trends, what might happen next 3.How AoC makes a difference

What you learnt last time From CPD session in 2012 Colleges get funding to keep education and training free or low cost We’ve had national funding formulae for 22 years Governments use funding to influence behaviour (eg right students taking the right courses at lowest cost) It’s all about people. Who students are and what they do affects income Vast data collection system makes it work

Sources: GFE Finance records 2008/09 to 2013/14 (adjusted); Financial plans 2014/15 to 2015/16 College Forecast

College Forecasts

Financial health assessment College financial health (EFA/ SFA assessment) Cash based profitability Net current assets Levels of borrowing Purpose of financial health assessment Judgement by the regulator (EFA/SFA) on strength/vulnerability Used to determine which colleges need external intervention Sometimes used to assess % capital grant Use to restrict access to apprenticeships, traineeships, etc 20 year old system, last updated in 2008

Issues Colleges with no borrowing can’t always get an overdraft Deteriorating financial results since 2012 Wide range between different colleges Financial health scores Approx numbersRatioBorrowingSolvencyOperations “Outstanding” “Good” “Satisfactory” “Inadequate” Scoring for from financial plans (FE colleges only

How colleges will improve their finances Some or all of the following: 1.Better government policy (funding properly matching the task) 2. Cost reduction (to bring budgets back into balance) 3.Property sales to release cash (only open to some colleges) 4.Relentless focus on student/employer demand and need 5.Outsmarting the competition 6.Strong, positive, realistic leadership

College income Colleges SFA FE College income (£ millions) 233 Colleges EFA 2,823 (44%) SFA 1,734 (28%) Other 1,756 (28%) Total 6,396 Surplus 34 Sixth form colleges (£ millions) 93 Colleges EFA 822 (95%) Other 42 (5%) Total 864 Surplus 20 EFA

DfE funds 4.3 mil primary and 2.7 mil secondary pupils via EFA and local authorities. Money based on pupil numbers & characteristics EFA funds 1.3 mil year olds via a national formula. £4,000 for a full-time student; less for a part-timer; more for some courses (10%); extra for two types of disadvantage (English/Maths + postcode); a deduction for withdrawals; extra for large programmes s DFE’s funding for year olds £ bil Schools budget All other DFE 5.5 DFE RDEL 53.7

Alison Wolf on college funding “The current funding regime for year olds (and indeed post-19) is unique to this country in tying funding overwhelmingly to qualifications rather than to the individuals who take them. The system is completely opaque to the vast majority of the people working within the system, let along to the public at large. It imposes very large administrative costs on institutions and, as basic economic and management theory tells us, opaque systems are intrinsically inefficient and subject to extensive gaming. There are a number of good (and some less good) reasons why the system has evolved as it has….It is hard to believe that we alone need to maintain a system of such complexity that senior college staff need to attend annual fee-bearing courses so that they can understand – partially – how they are being funded and how they can game the system” (Wolf review, 2011, page 120)

The EFA funding formula Total Programme Funding BandHoursTotal £4,000 4 (*) 450+£3, £2, £2,133 1 < 279 Programme% Base 0% Medium 20% High 30% Specialist 60% Land-based 75% Disadvantage% 1 (GCSE Maths / English) £480 per GCSE 2 (27% most deprived) 8 to 33% extra Programme Cost Weighting Disadvantage Funding Area Cost Allowance (up to 20%) Student Numbers National Funding Rate per student Retention Factor (less than 1) ()

……plus extras (if applicable) Programme Cost Weighting Disadvantage Funding Student Numbers National Funding Rate per student Retention Factor ( ) Area Cost Allowance Large programme factor High Needs Students Formula Protection Funding Total Programme Funding Bursaries & Free Meals

16-18 students and funding ( ) StudentsInstit 16,1718 FTPTH/Needs TotalAverage Colleges ,274 Schools2, Special Schools Comm & Charit Total3, , £ millionsProg Of which Disadv H/N Bursary Free Meals Total Colleges3, ,616 Schools2, ,121 Special Schools Comm & Charit Total5, ,193

BIS funding for 19+ FE/Skills £ bil HE & Science FE 2.9 All other BIS 2.4 BIS RDEL 13.2 BIS funds 1 million undergraduates via the HE student loan scheme (£40,000+ in student debt with a forecast 45% impairment) Student loan outlays £14 billion a year and rising SFA funds 2 million adults over 19 and 0.8 million apprentices via a several different national formulae. /

SFA funding – where does it go? £ millionsTotal 19+ Apprenticeships Apprenticeships732 Apprenticeship grants for employers 131 Apprenticeships1,487 £ millionsTotal 19+ further education1,328 ESF funding via SFA461 Community learning210 Offender learning financial support127 Employer ownership (est)70 ESOL mandation50 Other SFA, A/Year2,374 Colleges in Total% 19+ FE Apps Apps27736

The SFA 19+ funding formula Band (£)ABCDE Certif (13+), GCSE ,1591,246 Certif (25+) 1,2651,4171,6452,0252,176 Diploma (37+) A-level 1,9872,2252,5823,1793,417 Diploma (49+) 2,5732,8823,3454,1174,425 Access course 3,0223,3843,9264,8255,197 Diploma (73+) 4,1704,6705,4216,6717,172 Diploma (133+) ND 6,6027,3958,58310,56411,356 Apprenticeship adjustments % % Over % Large employer -25% For each learning aim Disadvantage Funding (8 to 33%) Area Cost Allowance (up to 20%) Weighted funding rate Fee assumption (less 50%) Traineeships 100+ hours £ £ £900 Achievement element (20% at end)

Apprenticeship trailblazers Band (£)54321 Maximum govt contrib 2,0003,0006,0008,00018,000 Employer contribution 1,0001,5003,0004,0009,000 Completion element ,2002, element ,8002,4005,400 Small business element ,2002,700 BIS has approved 130 new trailblazers, some at Level 3, mainly at Level 4 + c300 trailblazers likely to be ready by summer 2015 Funding via different set of rates and rules but recorded on ILR

Apprenticeship Vouchers Employer New Employer Database (SFA) College or Training Provider Funding System (SFA) Registration To get a Discount Code £ less a discount ILR £ The Discount

Strong push for local control of skills LEPs have ESF & skills capital funding #DevoManc 6 Metro areas + London (40% popul) The 39 LEPs? 152 Counties, Unitaries & Boroughs Scope of devolution unclear All 16+ FE? 19+FE less Apprentices? Could happen in stages and-budgets-some-practical-issues Devolution

Funding update – where are we right now? EFA (16-18 education) Little change but English and Maths are major issues Average funding down by c3% (because student numbers down) Apprenticeships Budget ring-fenced but major reform programme underway SFA (19+ further education) 24% cut in “other Adult Skills Budget”, slightly moderated Significant impact in London because of position of colleges Loan supported education 24+ advanced learning loans - money available to grow No student number controls in higher education

What policies are on offer? Education (“schools”) Various promises on the DFE budget Curriculum changes in next few years Maths/English to 18, Tech Bacc (Lab) 500 more free schools (Cons) RSCs –vs- Directors of school standards Higher education (“universities”) Labour promise a fee reduction to £6,000 Skills (“apprenticeships”) Conservatives: 3 million apprentices. Labour: a guarantee at 18 Devolution Conservatives: more devolution. Labour: an English Devolution Act

Government finances Deficit to be closed this decade … via tax income.. plus spending cuts Offsetting extra spending on … pensions, debt interest (AME) ….NHS (protected DEL) Politics & events have an influence Depending on who gets in.. Unprotected DEL cuts after 2015 The bigger spending picture Public finances (in £ billions, constant cash)

The 2015 spending review £60 billion deficit & £90 bil public sector borrowing in Economic growth will narrow deficit Chancellor estimates £30 bil in savings (£12 bil welfare, £5 bil interest) Labour promises imply much smaller spending cuts Conservatives and Labour now boxed in on Income tax, VAT and NI The budget £ bil2016 to 2019 Protected (NHS, Schools, DFID) 160+5? Too difficult to cut (Defence,rUK) 700 Post 16, Police, Local Govt, the rest 76-30? Departmental spending plans (worst case!)

Funding changes after the election AreaMy best guess fundingContinuing slices from the budget SFA fundingMore cuts, apprentices & talk about devolution Apprenticeships300 new qualifications, work on vouchers FE loansFE loan extension but possibly not until 2017 HEDepends on the election. £6k fees under Labour CapitalLEP skills capital, possibly a re-capitalisation fund

What next? Summer 2015 Election result (8 May 2015) Formation of new government Parliament returns (18 May 2015) Queens speech (27 May 2015) Budget (June/July 2015) First legislation (eg a Labour bill on £6,000 fees) Autumn 2015 HE recruitment with no student number controls Spending review (by early December 2015 at the latest) Ministerial decisions on big issues Changes in agencies? Ofsted? FE commissioner? College responses to the new climate/new funding

AoC approach to funding & finance Representing and promoting colleges AoC will get best deal by talking about what colleges do & could do Money will follow if the public & policy-makers are inspired Evidence-based arguments linked to national objectives Papers, blogs, articles ( Services to members Aim for marginal gains (eg capital, mitigation, rule-changes etc) Funding briefing every 2 weeks 1-to-1 advice Support for College Finance Directors Group (CFDG) Funding issues part of Policy, Regions, Comms etc work

What it’s useful to remember Financial £7 billion income Down c5% in FE college £27 mil income (average) Sixth form college £9 mil College share of main funding streams varies The future Public spending squeezed for a generation Colleges are resilient and part of the solution Young people, employers, future workforce all 16-18s, Apprenticeships and Loans (for fees) are all in the mix AoC active in all main areas to maximise opportunities