Michelle Donelan MP responds to college leaders' open letter

On 25 September an open letter on investment and skills was sent by over 100 Principals of further and higher education colleges to the Education Secretary Gavin Williamson MP. The letter thanked Mr Williamson for the £400m funding boost as the first step in the government’s commitment to colleges and set out their hopes and expectation that this will be the beginning of a sustainable, long term settlement. While encouraged by the public recognition and choosing to invest in the unique and pivotal role further education colleges play in both the economy and society, college leaders are clear that to make this a reality in the future the support from Government must be long-term. We received a response to the letter from Michelle Donelan MP the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Children and Families this week. The response from the Government is positive in recognising the pressures on adult education funding and it’s interesting to see that they are thinking about adult education and FE funding as a priority ahead of spending plans for 2020-21. The letter comes at an important time, Colleges Week begins on Monday 14 October and we hope that you’ll be continuing to highlight the issues and getting involved with the #LoveOurColleges campaign. For more information on how to get involved in the activity please visit the website.