MD2555 London Learner Survey

1.1 In the Skills for Londoners Strategy, the Mayor set out his intention to reform the Adult Education Budget (AEB) to include a greater focus on the impact of provision, including the outcomes achieved by learners. An Outcomes for Londoners Advisory Group was established as a subordinate body of the Skills for Londoners Board in autumn 2018, and includes representatives of the AEB provider base, London boroughs and wider stakeholder groups.

1.2 Since January 2019, under the guidance of the Advisory Group, extensive engagement has taken place with the adult education sector and wider stakeholders to inform the development of a new framework to measure the impact of the AEB. This has included stakeholder workshops, learner focus groups, interviews with providers and interviews with London’s political leadership. Alongside this, technical analysis has been conducted of a wide range of potential impact measures. A proposed approach was considered by the Advisory Group in September 2019, which noted the difficulties and expense providers currently face in collecting learner destinations data. The Group recommended that the GLA develop and introduce a large-scale London Learner Survey, which would collect data on the impact learning has on the full population of AEB-funded learners. This proposal was considered and endorsed by the Skills for Londoners Board in October 2019.

1.3 This MD seeks approval for up to £100k of expenditure from the AEB Management and Administration Budget to commission a survey feasibility study.

1.4 Any decision to run a London Learner Survey will have implications for the planned evaluation for the AEB, previously approved by the Mayor through MD2462. A proposed revised structure for the evaluation is therefore set out below.

1.5 Under the legislative framework which permits the transfer of statutory AEB functions to the Mayor, the Mayor is not able to delegate those functions in the normal way. This is recognised as a matter reserved by law for the personal exercise of the Mayor only, under the Mayoral Decision-Making in the Greater London Authority document.

1.6 In line with the governance arrangements for the AEB Programme, the decisions set out in this MD were endorsed by the AEB Mayoral Board on 26 November 2019.

Learner survey feasibility study

2.1 It is recommended that the GLA explores the feasibility of running a new London Learner Survey, which would assess the impact of the AEB provision accessed by over 300,000 Londoners each year. This would allow for the collection of data on social impact and in-work progression that is not possible through the existing Individualised Learning Record (ILR) infrastructure and would also provide the GLA with more timely information on employment destinations.

2.2 It would provide an opportunity to better demonstrate the impact that the AEB has on London learners, employers and communities, and the impact that delegation of funding is having on the outcomes achieved by learners in both adult community learning and adult skills provision. This would build the evidence base on the impact of devolution of adult education and skills provision, boosting the arguments that the Mayor has made in “Skills for Londoners: A Call for Action” for further devolution of skills and employment services.

2.3 A survey would also give London greater control over data on the outcomes achieved by learners. There are currently significant restrictions on the use and publication of the ILR data, which is owned by the Department for Education (DfE).

2.4 Therefore, it is recommended that the Mayor agrees to spend up to £100,000 from the AEB Management and Administration Budget on commissioning a feasibility study. The study will identify an operational model for the survey, make recommendations on the minimum sample size required and timescales for implementation, and identify the expected costs of running the survey at different levels of scale. Based on this, resourcing proposals for a London Learner Survey will be brought to a future AEB Mayoral Board meeting and subsequent Mayoral Decision if required.

2.5 The feasibility study will be managed by officers from the Skills & Employment Unit, who will work closely with the Intelligence Unit to ensure the methodology for the feasibility study and any subsequent survey draws upon Intelligence Unit expertise, and aligns with relevant GLA-wide approaches. A steering group for the study has been formed including officers from both units.

2.6 The GLA will continue to consult with stakeholders, including through the Outcomes for Londoners Advisory Group, as the operational model and survey content is developed.

Implications for AEB evaluation

2.7 The proposed approach to collecting impact data now needs to be reflected in the evaluation plans for the AEB. Under cover of MD2462, the Mayor authorised expenditure of up to £80,000 per academic year, amounting to £320,000 across four academic years from 1 August 2019 to 31 July 2023, for the procurement of consultancy services to support AEB evaluation. This includes an evaluation of the process of delegating AEB from the Secretary of State for Education to the Mayor (currently in delivery) and an evaluation of the delivery and impact of the AEB programme.

2.8 The new proposed structure of the AEB delivery and impact evaluation is set out below:

• Evaluation 1. A smaller qualitative evaluation of academic year 2019/20 delivery arrangements, to be procured in winter 2019/20;

• Evaluation 2. An evaluation of the projects funded through the Skills for Londoners Innovation Fund, to be procured in spring 2020; and

• Evaluation 3. The main mixed-methods impact evaluation contract, which will identify and measure the impact of AEB provision and the value-added from the AEB being administered locally in London, to be procured later in 2020. This will now include provision for the analysis of London Learner Survey data (if the Mayor decides to proceed with commissioning such a survey) and will be fully aligned with City Hall’s new agreed approach to measuring outcomes and impact.

Budgets associated with evaluation packages

2.9 The maximum budgets for the proposed evaluation packages are as follows:

• Evaluation 1. Qualitative evaluation of academic year 2019/20 delivery: up to £60k;

• Evaluation 2. Evaluation of Skills for Londoners Innovation Fund: up to £80k; and

• Evaluation 3. Main mixed-methods impact evaluation contract: up to £230k.

2.10 The maximum spend for the three evaluations, plus the process evaluation already in delivery, must not exceed the £320,000 budget allocated for evaluation services.

3.1 Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities – of whom the Mayor is one – must have due regard to the need to:

• eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct that is prohibited by or under the Equality Act 2010;

• advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it; and

• foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

3.2 Relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender re-assignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

3.3 In the Skills for Londoners Strategy and subsequent analyses, the GLA has highlighted that there are several groups who are disproportionately underrepresented in London’s labour market, including some groups with protected characteristics. This includes special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) learners, young people, disabled adults, Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups and women.

3.4 The GLA will use any data collected through the London Learner Survey to measure and analyse trends in the participation of different groups of Londoners and the outcomes achieved by different groups of Londoners. This will give the GLA insight into how effectively providers are serving those groups, and will be used to inform future policy interventions to reduce gaps in participation and achievement among disadvantaged groups. Officers have considered the direct impact of the proposed work on groups with protected characteristics and do not anticipate that the collection of survey data, in and of itself, will disadvantage any particular group.

4.1 There is a risk that concerns will be raised in the sector about the perceived burden of initially collecting data on employment destinations in two different ways (i.e. through the ILR and through the London Learner Survey). The GLA will mitigate this by exploring through the feasibility study how data collected through the Survey could be shared with providers to return through the ILR.

4.2 The proposed work is part of the implementation of the commitments made in the Mayor’s Skills for Londoners Strategy, to:

• empower all Londoners to access the education and skills to participate in society and progress in education and work;

• meet the needs of London’s economy and employers, now and in the future; and

• deliver a strategic city-wide technical skills and adult education offer.

4.3 The operational model for any learner survey will be designed to be compliant with the GLA’s obligations under the General Data Protection Regulation.

4.4 There are no interests to be declared from those involved in drafting this decision.

5.1 Approval is being sought for expenditure of up to £100,000 to commission a feasibility study for a potential new survey of AEB learners in London. This expenditure will be funded by the 2019-20 AEB Management and Administration Budget.

6.1 Section 39A of the Greater London Authority Act 1999 permits the delegation of ministerial functions to the Mayor, subject to certain limitations and conditions. This formed the basis for the delegation of AEB functions from the Secretary of State for Education to the Mayor. A particular limitation of a delegation under s39A is that the usual power of delegation by the Mayor is not available in respect of s39A delegated functions.

6.2 In taking the decisions requested, the Mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

6.3 Should the Mayor be minded to make the decisions sought, officers must ensure that:

6.3.1 the services required:

(a) meet all of the GLA’s needs to enable its formulation of an approach to the survey activity proposed in order that the GLA’s AEB evaluation complies with the requirements of the Department for Education/Education and Skills Funding Agency;

(b) are procured in liaison with TfL Commercial fully in accordance with the provisions of the GLA’s Contracts and Funding Code (paying particular attention to the need to secure value for money in the GLA’s subsequent procurement of evaluation services while maintaining a “level playing field” for bidders); and

(c) following the conclusion of such procurement activity appropriate contract documentation is put in place and executed by the successful bidder and the GLA before the commencement of such services.

6.3.2 all proposals for a revised approach to the procurement of AEB evaluation services meet the requirements of Department for Education/Education and Skills Funding Agency.