- About us
- About colleges
-
Corporate services
- Corporate services
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Data Protection/GDPR
-
Employment Services - college workforce
- Employment Services - college workforce
- Employment: How we support members
- Introduction & Employment Helpline
- Absence & Sickness Management
- Contracts and T&Cs
- Disciplinary, Capability & Grievance
- Employment Briefings Library
- Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
- General Employee Relations & HR Issues
- Holiday/annual leave related
- Industrial Relations
- ONS reclassification related guidance
- Pay & Pensions
- Recruitment
- Redundancy, Restructuring & TUPE
- Safeguarding/Prevent
- Workforce Benchmarking, Surveys & Research
- Governance
-
Projects
- Projects
- Get Involved!
- Projects: How we support members
- Resources
- The 5Rs Approach to GCSE Maths Resits
- Apprenticeship Workforce Development (AWD) Programme
- Creating a Greener London – Sustainable Construction Skills
- Erasmus+ EXPECT Project
- Digital Roles Across Non-digital Industries
- T Level and T Level Foundation Year Provider Support Programme
- The Valuing Enrichment Project
- Higher and Extended Project Qualifications
- OfS - Higher Education Social Prescribing Project
- Pears Foundation Youth Social Action Programme: Phase 2
- T Level Professional Development (TLPD) Offer
- T Level Curriculum Macro-Sequencing
- Contact the Projects Team
- DfE Multiply Capability Support Programme
- Creative Arts in FE 2024 – developing student voice through creativity
- Resources/Guidance
- Sustainability & Climate Action Hub
- Partnerships
- Honours Nomination
- Brexit
- Recruitment and consultancy
-
Events and training
- Events and training
- Events
- T Level & T Level Foundation Year Events
- Events and training: How we support members
- Network Meetings
- Annual Conference & Exhibition 2023 Resources
- Previous Events & Webinars
- In-House Training
- Senior Leadership Development Programme
- Introducing AoC's Early Career and Experienced Middle Managers Programme
- Sponsorship & Exhibition Opportunities
- Funding and finance
-
Policy
- Policy
- Meet the Policy Team
- Policy: How we support members
- Policy Areas
- Policy Briefings
- Submissions
- Policy Papers & Reports
- AoC Strategy Groups
-
AoC Reference Groups
- AoC Reference Groups
- Adults (inc. ESOL) Reference Group
- Apprenticeship Reference Group
- Technology Reference Group
- HE Reference Group
- 14-16 Reference Group
- Mental Health Reference Group
- 16-18 Reference Group
- SEND Reference Group
- WorldSkills Reference Group
- HR Reference Group
- Sustainability & Climate Change Reference Group
- EDI Reference Group
- Opportunity England
- Research unit
-
News, campaigns and parliament
- News, campaigns and parliament
- General and mayoral election resources
- Comms advice and resources for colleges
- AoC Newsroom
- AoC Blogs
- Work in Parliament
- AoC Campaigns
- Briefings
- Contact the Communications, Media, Marketing and Research Team
- Communications, media, marketing and research: How we support members
-
Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Equality, diversity and inclusion
- Equality, diversity and inclusion blogs
- AoC’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Charter
- Diversity in Leadership
- Black FE Leadership Group and AoC partnership agreement
- AoC's Equity Exchange
- Equality, diversity and inclusion: how we support members
- Equality, diversity and inclusion case studies
- Home
- News, campaigns and parliament
- AoC Blogs
- Spring Budget gives rare prominence to technical education
Spring Budget gives rare prominence to technical education
We have a Conservative Government elected on a 2015 manifesto promise to eliminate the budget deficit so it is no surprise that the spending measures in today's Budget are fully funded from more taxation or saving elsewhere. After two downgrades to the official economic forecast in 2016 statements, the Office of Budget Responsibility report an upgrade this time. As predicted, the Chancellor plans to use any extra funds that reach the Treasury to reduce the deficit.
Today’s announcements repeat the briefing given in the last few days. The Chancellor described the new technical education routes as T-levels and promised that spending on those taking them will rise by £500 million a year once they are fully in place - some years away. He promised a 50% increase in teaching hours and three month work placements. This represents a Cabinet-level endorsement for the Sainsbury Review brief though, as we explain in this note, it assumes just 20% of the age group will benefit. The amounts allocated are:
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
16-19 technical education
£60m
£115m
£250m
£445m
The Chancellor also promises a Schools White Paper in the next few weeks and earmarked capital funds for new free schools. The plan is still to expand a growth in selective, faith and sponsored schools with universities and private schools both expected to play their part. The Chancellor also name checked the two 16-19 maths free schools - one of them supported by Exeter College - and said he hoped to see more of them. A longer note discussing the schools announcements is available here.
The third group of education announcements cover adults. Maintenance loans will be extended to part-time higher education and higher level technical courses but only for Level 4 or 5 courses taken in Institutes of Technology and National Colleges (not yet FE colleges). Added to this, there will be new £40 million Department for Education pilot to test lifelong learning. Small steps but in the right direction.
Overall the Spring Budget contained a set of modest changes but gave rare prominence to technical education. The Chancellor described this as a strategy for the next generation to ensure that today's children do as well tomorrow as today's adults. Our Budget submission argued that the Government needs to go further in raising spending as a proportion of GDP which is currently at the lowest level for decades - barely above 4%. We'll have to wait another day to win this case but in the meantime there is much for colleges to do to move the technical, academic and apprenticeship reforms forward.
Julian Gravatt is the Assistant Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges