Agenda item

Report ED13068

The Portfolio Holder introduced a report that explored the broader role of adult education and outlined the various options available to the Local Authority to fulfil its duty to secure reasonable provision of adult education in the Borough into the future.

Bromley Adult Education College worked to support training for employment and career development and learning for personal development (sometimes referred to as leisure or informal learning).  Training for employment and career development was funded through a combination of the Adult Skills Budgets, student fees (and loans from 2013) and employer contributions, and was focused on national government priorities and local employment and training needs, including delivery of a range of vocational qualifications at Levels 1-3, adult literacy and numeracy and English for speakers of other languages.  It also included training in independent living skills for adults with disabilities, partnership work with Jobcentre Plus and Affinity Sutton that was focused on supporting local adults into employment, and a range of corporate training for the Local Authority including ICT and New Futures training as well as managing training for Early Years and the schools’ workforce, previously delivered through the Education Development Centre.  Learning for personal development was funded by the Community Learning Grant from the Skills Funding Agency, as well as by student fees and payment ‘in kind’ from various community partners.  The Community Learning Grant was provided to local authorities to support informal adult learning at a local level, helping to meet local needs and strategic objectives.  At Bromley Adult Education College this supported the delivery of a wide range of non-accredited learning opportunities, some of which were provided in partnership with local community and third sector organisations to help engage non-traditional adult learning participants.  The Community Learning Grant also supported family learning and worked in partnership with schools to encourage intergenerational learning and homework support for parents. 

In considering the future delivery of adult education in the Borough, Members noted that local authority involvement in the provision of adult education was not a statutory duty and that there was only an expectation to make reasonable provision for adult education which could be commissioned from an alternate provider or as a shared service with one or more neighbouring local authorities.  The Chairman underlined the commitment the Local Authority had to adult education and lifelong learning and noted that it was included as part of the Education Commitments.  There was a need to consider how the service would be delivered across the Borough into the future and it was proposed that market testing be undertaken to identify potential interested organisations and develop an understanding of what a tender should include.

The Head of Service for Bromley Adult Education College confirmed that a significant restructure of Bromley Adult Education College had already been undertaken in September 2012.  This restructure had been in response to a reduction in grant and student fee income to ensure the Bromley Adult Education College continued to hold a balance budget.  Within this budget, a number of free courses remained available to eligible students.  In total, 1502 students had received total fee remission during the 2012/13 academic year to date, the majority of whom were unemployed and training for vocational reasons through courses funded by the Adult Skills Budget.  Fees were charged for the majority of courses funded by the Community Learning Grant, excluding provision such as family learning and homework support, although some students were entitled to a concessionary fee.  Courses were assessed before going ahead to ensure that the full cost of running each course was met.

Members noted that the service made a profit of £559K in 2012-13 on the income received from grants and fees against the payments made, however the Local Authority had charged £661K of central recharges which offset this profit.  The Head of Education, Care and Health Services Finance advised Members that this was a legitimate recharge, allocated on an FTE basis, and that it was primarily an accounting adjustment that was non-controllable for the service.

In response to a question from a Member, the Head of Service for Bromley Adult Education College confirmed that the summer term had been extended for two weeks to accommodate a range of ‘taster’ courses.  Courses for people who were unemployed would continue during July 2013, and the Work Club would run throughout the summer.  The Chairman was sorry to note that the Transformation Project that had developed a pan-London portal for capturing informal adult learning opportunities across the London region had been forced to close in 2012.  It was important to ensure that Bromley residents were able to access the widest range of adult learning opportunities across London.

RESOLVED that the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

1)  Reaffirm the Local Authority’s commitment to adult education and lifelong learning;

2)  Agree that market testing of the existing adult education service be undertaken; and,

3)  Request that a further report be provided to a future meeting of the Education PDS Committee on the business case for the preferred delivery model.