MD2582 Adult Education Budget Procured Policy Changes for 2020/21

In November 2019, the Mayor approved two important AEB policy changes for grant recipients (MD2557):

• a 10% increase to the average cost per AEB-funded enrolment for English and maths qualifications at Levels 1 and 2 funded thorough the legal entitlement in 2020/21, amounting to £77 per funded enrolment; and

• the introduction of flexibility within AEB grant funded provider allocations to fully fund relevant learning that upskills eligible teaching and learning support staff to deliver improved provision for learners with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) within the publicly funded further education (FE) sector.

It was noted in that MD that further work was required to determine whether it was possible to announce similar changes for procured providers. Having now completed this work, it is proposed that these two policy changes are also implemented for AEB-procured providers. These changes will be implemented via an update to the GLA AEB Procured Rules and the GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula from 2020/21 academic year. Further detail on the proposed changes, including any risks, is included both in Section 2 of this decision form and in the reserved Part 2 form attached.

The decisions set out in this form were considered by the AEB Mayoral Board on 19 February 2020.

This decision form seeks approval for changes to be made to the GLA AEB Procured Rules and GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula to incorporate the policy changes detailed above. These amendments mainly mirror the changes adopted in the GLA’s AEB Grant Funding Rules, for reasons of consistency.

​​​​​​​In October 2018, the AEB Procured tender documents made clear to bidders and potential bidders that the GLA AEB Procured Rules with which successful bidders must comply would be subject to change by the GLA from time to time. These changes usually mirror changes to the Funding Rules documents introduced by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) on a regular basis.

​​​​​​​GLA officers consider that the proposed changes to the GLA AEB Procured Rules are not substantial and do not significantly or materially alter the scope and nature of the existing GLA contracts. Further details in relation to this matter are presented in Part 2 of this Decision Form.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​The proposed changes to the GLA AEB Funding and Performance Rules and GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula to implement these policy changes are set out in the tables below. Once the amendments have been made, both documents will be published in draft in February/March 2020.

*Please note that this clause will be added to the GLA AEB Grant Funding Rules.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​It should be noted that there are a number of other minor amendments to the GLA AEB Procured Rules and the GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula documents which include minor clarifications and other small changes such as correcting clerical errors that have been made directly to the text. Officers do not consider any of these amendments to be substantive and therefore requiring a formal Mayoral Decision.

Section 149(1) of the Equality Act 2010 provides that, in the exercise of their functions, public authorities 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.

Relevant protected characteristics are age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

The Mayor is required to comply with the duty set out above in making the decisions set out in this report and any future decisions relating to the AEB made pursuant to those arrangements which will be subject to separate decision forms.

All AEB policy changes proposed for 2020/21 consider the potential equalities impact for people with relevant protected characteristics (age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation).

While there is a risk that directing AEB funding to support the upskilling of teachers and learning support staff could reduce the funding available to learners with relevant protected characteristics it will also help build capacity within London’s FE sector to support more learners with SEND.

The aim of the AEB and European Social Fund (ESF) is to improve opportunities for people who are disadvantaged in the labour market. Many potential AEB participants have protected characteristics listed above. The GLA’s AEB provision will support a range of groups, particularly the most disadvantaged people not currently receiving sufficient support into employment or education. These include young adults who are not in education, employment or training (NEET), people without basic skills and people who are workless. It will also support Londoners in low-paid/low-skilled jobs.

A key risk associated with this approach is:

Risk of not amending the GLA AEB Procured Rules. Risks arise if changes are made to the AEB Grant Rules but not to the GLA AEB Procured Rules because the programmes would then be subject to different sets of Funding Rules. This could confuse providers and learners, result in a requirement for additional data collection and verifications, and ultimately increase the risk of non-compliance and the need to clawback ineligible payments. In addition, there could be considerable reputational risks if providers funded through different mechanisms are considered to be being treated differently in an unfair way. To mitigate this risk, it is proposed that the changes to the GLA AEB Procured Rules mirror the changes approved in the GLA AEB Grant Rules.

Further risks are set out in Part 2 of this decision form.

There are no interests to declare from those involved in the drafting or clearance of this decision.

There are no current direct financial implications to the GLA arising from the proposed amendments to the GLA’s AEB Funding and Performance Management Rules for Procured Providers. Whilst there is no overall financial impact on the AEB budget, there may be changes in re alignment which may affect individual strands but will be contained within the overall AEB envelope.

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 forms 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.

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, sex, 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.

Should the Mayor be minded to make the decisions sought, officers must ensure that the changes are communicated clearly to procured providers.