Association of Colleges

College funding in 2012

Publication date: 14 December 2011

Colleges now have more information on 2012-13 funding levels as a result of the publication of the 16-19 Funding Statement by the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA).

The 346 Colleges in England receive:

• £3.7bn from the YPLA in 2011-12
• £1.7bn from the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) for 19+ education
• £0.2m for 16-18 apprentices

Total College income is £7.2bn with £6.4bn going to FE Colleges and £0.8bn to Sixth Form Colleges.

The 16-19 Funding Statement shows that the Department for Education (DfE) has increased the budget for 16-18 education by 0.9% to £7.5bn but that they expect a larger 2.2% growth in student numbers, resulting in an average 1.1% cut in funding per student. They forecast growth of 34,000 places – 2,000 in Colleges, 16,000 in schools, 18,000 apprentices - over the estimated position for this year. These estimates may need to be revised in January 2012 following the school census return. Our surveys show that College enrolments in 2011-12 could be lower than the estimates contained in the statement which will increase the student number growth required in the 2012 funding round.

The DfE published information on school funding this week. With the help of a larger Pupil Premium, we estimate that funding per primary or secondary pupil rises by 0.5% on average, which compares to the 1.1% cut per 16-18 year old. Government continues to prioritise funding for secondary age pupils over sixth formers and young apprentices as a matter of policy.

There are no big policy announcements in the 16-19 Funding Statement but it includes some technical changes which will minimise annual cuts in school and College budgets. This means it will not take a further two years to close the funding gap between schools and Colleges but it will allow schools longer to deal with the cuts. The key question is whether the extra money they receive results in a better quality education.

The DfE has also made a welcome announcement of £107m in capital funding for 16-18 education; £63m of which will go to Sixth Form Colleges to help them improve their buildings and £44m of which will support new places. The SFA is about to allocate £100m in capital funds to FE Colleges. Colleges have made good use of capital funding in the last few years and, although it would be better to have longer-term budgets, it is good that both government departments have recognised the value of this investment.

AoC will be providing more information on all these announcements in our Friday briefings to members.

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