ADD2235 Support for the Skills for Londoners Framework Consultation

As part of the preparation for the devolution of the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to the Mayor in 2019-20, the GLA is producing a Skills for Londoners Framework outlining how the Mayor will support the delivery of the objectives of the Skills for Londoners Strategy.

The Framework sets out the key priorities for the AEB, and how they will be delivered. This includes using part of the AEB to unlock some uncommitted European Social Fund (ESF) funding to help deliver on these priorities, as well as to pilot innovative approaches to the delivery of skills and employment provision to support the most disadvantaged groups in the capital. The Framework also contains information on commissioning and contract management arrangements for each of the different funding streams, and how these will complement each other to deliver the Mayor’s strategic aims. Additionally, the Framework sets out how the GLA intends to move towards an outcomes-based approach to delivering the AEB and ESF in London in future years.

The Framework will be published on the GLA website for comment in early July 2018. The Framework sets out a number of key questions under the relevant chapters in the document for stakeholders to respond to. The questions cover a range of issues including the types or provision and groups of learners that should be prioritised for funding; rules for subcontracting for providers; and the outputs and outcomes most important for London’s residents.

Consultancy support is required to facilitate public consultation on the Framework questions to enable input from the widest range of stakeholders, including: providers, representative organisations, Sub-Regional Partnerships and employers. This process will involve managing and formally recording all comments from written consultation submissions to the Framework, and analysing the responses as part of an initial headline findings report, followed by a final summary report. The procurement process will follow Transport for London guidelines for procuring contracts between £10,000 and £25,000, with a minimum of three suppliers sought for the requirement.

The final report will be used to support the Mayor’s AEB policy development, feeding into the development of programme documentation and rules, and influence future work streams.

• To collate, log and analyse all written responses to the Framework during the consultation process (planned for four weeks from early July 2018)
• To produce an interim headline findings within one month (end of August 2018), including all collated submissions
• To produce a detailed report summarising all written responses to the Framework to feed into the development of the AEB funding rules documents, and to support future work streams

The consultation will seek to capture the impact the proposals put forward in the Framework could have on people with protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, gender, religion or belief, sexual orientation) by targeting representative and specialist organisations that understand the needs of these groups and the barriers they face.

A key issue is timing to the ensure the final report is produced by mid-September 2018.

The estimated cost of up to £25,000 for this initiative will be funded from the AEB Implementation budget for 2018-19.