GLA AEB Grant Funding and Performance Management Rules 2022-23 v1

We have divided this document into three sections that contain the general funding requirements, AEB specific funding rules and payment and performance management rules.

Each section may include:

• the context of the rule in a box; and/or
• the rule itself as a numbered paragraph.

We have included a glossary to explain technical terms.

We have included a summary of changes to explain new policy rules and amendments that differ from Version three of the GLA's 2021-22 AEB Grant Funding Rules.

The terms ‘GLA’, ‘we’, ‘us’ and ‘our’ refer to the Greater London Authority.

When we refer to ‘you’, ‘your’ or ‘providers’, this includes colleges, higher education institutions and local authorities who receive funding from us to deliver education and training. We will use the generic term ‘you’ or ‘provider’ unless the requirements only apply to a specific provider type.

We use the term ‘grant agreement’ to describe the GLA Adult Education Budget Conditions of Funding (Grant) which is issued to AEB Grant providers.

We use the terms ‘individual’ and ‘learner’ to cover those whose provision is funded by us.

We use the term ‘provision’ or ‘learning’ to refer to all learning that we fund, whether it is a regulated qualification or other learning that is not a regulated qualification.

If we refer to qualifications, either these will be from the Regulated Qualification Framework (RQF) or an Access to Higher Education Diploma recognised and regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

If we refer to a 'learning aim', we mean a single episode of learning which could be a regulated qualification, a component of a regulated qualification or non-regulated learning identified by a Learning Aim Reference Code.

If we refer to ‘programmes’ we mean a coherent package of learning which may include regulated qualifications, components of regulated qualifications or non-regulated learning with clearly stated aims supporting agreed outcomes.

You can contact us through our Service Desk at [email protected]. You can also contact your GLA Provider Manager.

These funding rules apply to all learners starting new learning aims on or after 1 August 2022 on the GLA's AEB Grant funded provision, or continuing learners who have not completed their learning by 31 July 2022, but started before that date.

You must not transfer funding between your GLA-funded adult education budget and any other education funding you may hold.

We will review and monitor whether the education and training you provide represents good value for money. If we consider the funding of education and training we have provided is significantly more than the cost, we may reduce the amount of funding we pay after consulting with you.

You must check the eligibility of the learner at the start of each learning aim and only claim funding for eligible learners.

To be funded by us, on the first day of learning a learner must be aged 19 or older on 31 August within the 2022 to 2023 funding year.

The age of the learner on 31 August in the funding year determines whether the learner is funded through the AEB funding methodology (for individuals aged 19 and over). Individuals aged 19 to 24 with an Education Health and Care Plan are funded by the ESFA through the young people's funding methodology and fall outside the scope of these rules. The AEB funding methodology will be reviewed each year and providers will be notified of changes. Please see the GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula for 2022 to 2023 for more information about the methodology.

Where we refer to a learner’s age being 19, this relates to the learner being aged 19 on the 31 August within the funding year they start a learning aim. For all other purposes, the age of the learner is at the start of each learning aim.

A learner’s eligibility will not change during the learning aim or programme.

Where we refer to the Employment Status of the learner, this relates to the learner's status on the day they begin their programme of learning.

Learners will be eligible for funding for the whole of the learning aim or programme if they are eligible for funding at the start, even if the duration is for over one year. You must reassess the learner for any further learning they start.

If an individual starts a learning aim or programme and is not eligible for funding, we will not fund their learning while they remain ineligible.

You must not fund a learner who is unable to complete a learning aim in the time they have available. Any learner, of any age, must be able to achieve the learning aim or programme within the time they have available.

Providers must make sure an individual is eligible before claiming funding for them.

Individuals will be eligible for GLA funded AEB if they meet the criteria in section Who we fund, if the learning is taking place in England, they are resident in London and they fulfil the residency requirements set out in one or more of the categories below.

We will not fund:

• qualifications, units or learning aims that are not listed on Find a Learning Aim, or on the DfE list of qualifications approved for funding – see sections Provision and individuals we fund, Level three adult offer and the level three legal entitlement, British Sign Language, Upskilling of teaching staff to deliver improved specialist provision for learners with SEND, Local flexibility, Local flexibility and legal entitlements
• provision to learners in custody. The Ministry of Justice funds prison education in England. Please note you can use your GLA funded AEB to fund individuals released on temporary licence as set out in the Unemployed section.
• any part of any learner’s learning aim or programme that duplicates provision they have received from any other source
• education through AEB, where a learner is undertaking or planning to undertake an apprenticeship and where that training will;
  • replicate vocational and other learning aims covered by the apprenticeship standard or framework, including English and maths
  • offer career related training that conflicts with the apprenticeship aims
  • be taking place during the apprentices working hours. Where an apprentice has more than one job, working hours refers to the hours of the job the apprenticeship is linked to.
• a learner to repeat the same regulated qualification where they have previously achieved it unless it is for any GCSE where the learner has not achieved grade four (C) or higher
• a learner to sit or resit a learning aim assessment or examination where no extra learning takes place

We define a delivery subcontractor as a separate legal entity that has an agreement with you to deliver any element of the education and training we fund. A separate legal entity includes companies in your group, other associated companies and sole traders. It also includes individuals who are self-employed or supplied by an employment agency, unless those individuals are working under your direction and control, in the same way as your own employees.

You must take your own legal advice about the impact of Public Contracts Regulations 2015 on your recruitment of delivery subcontractors and have this advice available for inspection by us on request.

Your governing body or board of directors and your accounting officer (senior responsible person) must agree your policy for delivery subcontracting. You must publish your policy for delivery subcontracting on your website.

You must only use delivery subcontractors:

• if you have the knowledge, skills and experience within your organisation to successfully procure, contract with and manage those subcontractors and can evidence this with the CVs of relevant staff;
• that your governing body/board of directors and your accounting officer (senior responsible person) determine as being of high quality and low risk, and provide written evidence confirming this; and
• if you have robust procedures to ensure subcontracting does not lead to the inadvertent funding of extremist organisations.

You are responsible for all the actions of your delivery subcontractors connected to, or arising out of, the delivery of the services, which you subcontract.

You will be required to outline any subcontracting plans you anticipate carrying out prior to commencement of your grant. Any subcontracting plans must be agreed with us before any subcontracts are signed.

Changes to your subcontracting plans after you have entered into a grant agreement with us must be agreed with us in advance.

When appointing delivery subcontractors, you must avoid conflicts of interest and you must write to us through your GLA Provider Manager about any circumstances (for example, where you and your proposed subcontractor have common directors or ownership) which might lead to an actual or perceived conflict of interest.

You must carry out your own due diligence checks when appointing delivery subcontractors and have both the process and the results available for inspection by us. You must not use a delivery subcontractor’s presence on a public register or database, as an indicator that they are suitable to deliver to your specific requirements.

You must not enter into new subcontracting arrangements or increase the value of your existing arrangements if any of the following circumstances apply. These conditions will continue until we are satisfied that the concerns have been addressed and the circumstances below no longer apply:

if Ofsted has rated your leadership and management as inadequate;
if you do not meet the minimum standards; or
if the outcome of your annual financial health assessment is inadequate, unless we have provided written permission in advance.

You must not enter into any agreement for Brokerage.

You must only award contracts for delivering provision funded by the AEB to legal entities. If the legal entity is a registered company, it must be recorded as ‘active’ on the Companies House database.

You must not award a subcontract to any organisation if:

• it has passed a resolution (or the court has made an order) to wind up or liquidate the company, or administrators have been appointed; or
• its statutory accounts are overdue

You must make sure that learners supported through subcontracting arrangements know about you and your delivery subcontractor’s roles and responsibilities in providing the learning.

You must have a legally binding contract with each delivery subcontractor that includes all the terms set out in the Terms that you must include in your contracts with delivery subcontractors section.

You must have a contingency plan in place for learners in the event that:

• you need to withdraw from a subcontract arrangement;
• a delivery subcontractor withdraws from the arrangement; or
• a delivery subcontractor goes into liquidation or administration.

You must ensure that there is a continuity of Services for existing learners

You must make sure that the terms of your subcontracts allow you to:

• monitor the delivery subcontractor’s activity;
• have control over your delivery subcontractors; and
• monitor the quality of education and training provided by delivery subcontractors.

You must obtain an annual report from an external auditor if the AEB contracts with your delivery subcontractors will exceed £100,000 in any one funding year. The report must:

• provide assurance on the arrangements to manage and control your delivery subcontractors; and
• comply with any guidance issued by us.

You must supply us with a certificate signed by the external auditor and an authorised signatory to confirm you have received a report that provides satisfactory assurance. We may ask you to provide a copy of the full report

You must make sure your delivery subcontractors:

• meet the requirements set out in our funding rules;
• provide you with ILR data so your data returns to us accurately reflect your subcontractor’s delivery information;
• give us, and any other person nominated by us, access to their premises and all documents relating to GLA provision funded by the AEB; and
• give you sufficient evidence to allow you to:
  • assess their performance against Ofsted’s Common Inspection Framework;
  • incorporate the evidence they provide into your self-assessment report; and
  • guide the judgements and grades within your self-assessment report.
• always have suitably qualified staff available to provide the education and training we fund through the AEB;
• co-operate with you to make sure there is continuity of learning if the subcontract ends for any reason;
• tell you if evidence of any irregular financial or delivery activity arises; irregular activity could include, but is not limited to:
  • non-delivery of training when funds have been paid;
  • sanctions imposed on the delivery subcontractor by an awarding organisation;
  • an inadequate Ofsted grade;
  • complaints or allegations by learners, people working for the delivery subcontractor or other relevant parties; and
  • allegations of fraud.

You must manage and monitor all of your delivery subcontractors to ensure that high-quality delivery is taking place that meets our funding rules.

You must carry out a regular and substantial programme of quality-assurance checks on the education and training provided by delivery subcontractors, including visits at short notice and face-to-face interviews with staff and learners. The programme must:

• include whether the learners exist and are eligible; and
• involve direct observation of initial guidance, assessment, and delivery of learning programmes.

The findings of your assurance checks must be consistent with your expectations and the delivery subcontractor’s records.

You must not agree the use of any delivery subcontractor where this would require you to subcontract education and training to a second level. All of your delivery subcontractors must be contracted directly by you.

Prior to the commencement of your grant, you must submit your subcontracting plan for the delivery year to us. You may not subcontract without our prior written approval.

You must also update and reconcile your subcontracting plan if your subcontracting arrangements change during the year. You may not make changes to your subcontracting plan without our prior written approval.

Your governing body or board of directors must review your delivery subcontracting funding retention and charges policy. Your accounting officer must sign the policy.

You must publish your delivery subcontracting funding retention and charges policy on your website before entering into any subcontracting agreements for each funding year.

As a minimum, you must include the following in your delivery subcontracting funding retention policy:

• your contribution to improving your and your delivery subcontractor’s quality of teaching and learning;
• the typical percentage range of funding you retain to manage delivery subcontractors, and how you calculate this range. We will consider a retention of up to 20 per cent of funding to manage delivery subcontractors as a maximum cap and would not expect providers to retain more than this. In exceptional cases, we will consider higher retention amounts and then only if there is a compelling rationale. This will be assessed on a case-by-case basis;
• any support delivery subcontractors will receive in return for the fee you charge;
• any oversight and management of delivery which you will carry out with the funding you retain;
• if appropriate, the reason for any differences in retention amounts or support provided to and management and oversight of different delivery subcontractors;
• payment terms between you and your delivery subcontractors; the timing of payments in relation to delivery and timescale for paying invoices and claims for funding received;
• how and when you communicate and discuss your policy with current and potential delivery subcontractors;
• timing for policy review (which should be done annually); and
• where you publish your policy.

You must also tell us the actual level of funding paid and retained for each of your delivery subcontractors in 2022 to 2023.

You must include the following in your published delivery subcontracting funding retention and charges information:

• name of each delivery subcontractor;
• the UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) of each delivery subcontractor;
• contract start and end date for each delivery subcontractor;
• funding we have paid to you for AEB delivery by each delivery subcontractor in that funding year;
• GLA funding you have paid to each delivery subcontractor for AEB delivery in that funding year;
• GLA funding you have retained in relation to each delivery subcontractor’s AEB delivery for that funding year; and
• if appropriate, GLA funding each delivery subcontractor has paid to you for services or support you have provided in connection with the subcontracted delivery.

ESF match funding requirements no longer apply to GLA Grant-funded AEB providers. Providers must seek GLA approval before using our funds to make bids for, or claims from, European funding on their own behalf or on our behalf.

If you are a provider of AEB Procured provision, please refer to the separate document Funding and Performance Management Rules for Procured Providers.

You must hold and retain evidence to assure us that you are using the funding appropriately. Most evidence will occur naturally from your normal business process.

You must make sure enrolments for GLA funded AEB support your decision to claim funding and support the individual’s case for consideration as resident in London, or any exceptions set out in the ‘Residency eligibility’ section.

In line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you must record in the evidence pack what appropriate documentation you have seen, rather than take photocopies to prove eligibility.

The evidence pack must contain evidence to support the funding claimed and must be available to us if we need it.

Evidence in the evidence pack must assure us that the learner exists.

The learner must confirm information they provide is correct when it is collected.

If the time spent in learning is short, the level of evidence in the evidence pack would reflect this.

Where you hold information centrally, you only need to refer to the source.

If applicable, the evidence pack must confirm the following:

• all information reported to us in the ILR and the Earnings Adjustment Statement (EAS), and if it applies, the supporting evidence for the data you report;
• your assessment and evidence of eligibility for funding and a record of what evidence the learner has provided to support their eligibility for funding;
• copies of all assessments and diagnostics undertaken to determine a learner’s requirements;
• information on prior learning that affects the learning or the funding of any of the learning aims or programme;
• for ‘personalised learning programmes’, for example, learning not regulated by a qualification, full details of all the aspects of the learning to be carried out, including supporting evidence of the number of planned hours reported in the ILR;
• a description of how you will deliver the learning and skills and how the learner will achieve;
• the supporting evidence about why you have claimed funding and the level of funding for a learner;
• details of any learner or employer contribution;
• support needs identified, including how you will meet these needs and the evidence of that;
• that learning is taking or has taken place and records are available;
• if applicable, a learner’s self-declaration as to what state benefit they claim;
• if applicable, a learner’s self-declaration relating to their status of being out of work and outside benefit arrangements;
• a learner’s self-declaration on their status relating to gaining a job; and
• all records and evidence of achievement of learning aims. This must be available within three months of you reporting it in the ILR.

Where the learner is unemployed, this must include a record of what you have agreed with them, including the relevance of the learning to their employment prospects and the labour market needs.

If a subcontractor delivers any provision to the learner, it must clearly identify who it is. This must match the information reported to us in the ILR.

The learner must confirm the information is correct when it is collected. You must have evidence of this, which can include electronic formats.

We accept electronic evidence, including electronic/digital signatures, but you must have wider systems and processes in place to assure you that learners exist and are eligible for funding.

Both electronic and digital signatures are acceptable, we do not specify which should be used, only that a secure process to obtain and store signatures is followed:

• An electronic signature is defined as any electronic symbol or process that is associated with any record or document where there is an intention to sign the document by any party involved. An electronic signature can be anything from a check box to a signature and/or
• A digital signature is where a document with an electronic signature is secured by a process making it non-refutable. It’s a digital fingerprint which captures the act of signing by applying security to a document. Usually documents which have a digital signature embedded are extremely secure and cannot be accessed or amended easily

Where an electronic or digital signature is being held, from any party for any reason, you must ensure it is non-refutable. This includes the definitions of both wet and dry signatures. Systems and processes must be in place to assure to us the original signature has not been altered. Where any document needs to be renewed, and a new signature taken, it must be clear from when the new document takes effect, and both must be held.

You must keep effective and reliable evidence. You are responsible for making the evidence you hold easily available to us when we need it.

You can only claim GLA funded AEB for learning when directly related learning starts. This would not include enrolment, induction, prior assessment, diagnostic testing or similar learning.

For your direct delivery, and any subcontracted delivery, you and where relevant, your subcontractor(s) must have direct centre approval and where appropriate, direct qualification approval from the respective awarding organisation for the regulated qualifications you are offering.

Delivery of the qualification (including learner registration with the awarding organisation) for direct delivery and any subcontracted delivery must be in line with the qualification specification and guidance set out by the relevant awarding organisation.

You must have evidence that the learning took place, and the learner was not certificated for prior knowledge.

Where the learning is certificated, you must follow your awarding organisation’s procedure for claiming the relevant certificate(s) and ensure the learner receives them. You must evidence this has happened in the evidence pack.

You must report the learning actual end date in the ILR for a learner who leaves learning as the last day that you can evidence they took part in a learning activity.

You must accurately complete all ILR fields as required in the 2022 to 2023 ILR Specification and any supplementary GLA guidance, even if they are not required for funding purposes.

The ILR must accurately reflect the learning and support (where applicable) you have identified, planned and delivered to eligible individuals. You must not report inaccurate information that would result in an overstatement of the funding claimed.

Where your data does not support the funding you have claimed, we will take action to get this corrected and could recover funds you have claimed.

You are required to support the implementation of the London Learner Survey, which is used to measure the impact of provision funded through AEB. You must administer the baseline survey to all AEB-funded learners. This includes any learners undertaking provision delivered by any third parties, and any learners undertaking distance learning. You must ensure that learners completing AEB provision are identified in submissions of ILR data within three months of their leaving date. You are required to engage with GLA’s research partner responsible for the survey.

You must schedule designated time for learners to complete the survey. A tutor or other staff member must be available to support with responding to learner queries when completing the survey. You have the flexibility to determine the most effective method of administering the survey under these conditions.

A target learner participation rate of 50 per cent will apply. Where participation rates fall below the target, the provider may be required to attend a monitoring meeting with the GLA to explore how participation rates can be improved.

Failure to achieve a 50 per cent learner participation rate in the London Learner Survey will impact upon your future AEB allocation.

All self-declarations must confirm the learner’s details and describe what the learner is confirming for requirements set out in this document.

All self-declarations of learners who are out of work and outside benefit arrangements must confirm the learner’s willingness to work or that they are seeking exceptional support with social integration.

If a learner self-declares prior attainment, you must check this in the personal learning record (PLR) query any contradictory information with the learner. The PLR will not necessarily override the learner’s self-declaration.

All self-declarations must confirm the learner’s details and describe what the learner is confirming for requirements set out in this document.

All self-declarations of learners who are out of work and outside benefit arrangements must confirm the learner’s willingness to work or that they are seeking exceptional support with social integration.

If a learner self-declares prior attainment, you must check this in the personal learning record (PLR) query any contradictory information with the learner. The PLR will not necessarily override the learner’s self-declaration.

Eligible 19 to 23 year-old learners can access all qualifications from the level three adult offer. If a learner aged 19 to 23 completes a qualification that is included on both the legal entitlement list and the level three adult offer list, they will have exercised their legal level three legal entitlement. For more information on the eligibility criteria refer to the Level Three Free Courses for Jobs Offer section.

We will fully fund any learner 19+ whose first or preferred language is British Sign Language (BSL), or who cannot access spoken language because of their deafness and would benefit from BSL, to study for qualifications in BSL, up to and including level two.

We will also fully fund any learner aged 19 and over, where they are unemployed as set out in the Unemployed section, in receipt of a low wage as set out in the Learners in receipt of low wage section, or out of work and outside benefit arrangements as set out in the Individuals out of work and outside benefit arrangements section, to study for qualifications in BSL, up to and including level two.

The following qualifications will be covered under this entitlement:

Entry level award in BSL (accredited by iBSL or ABC);
Level one certificate in BSL (accredited by Signature, iBSL or ABC); and
Level two certificate in BSL (accredited by Signature, iBSL or ABC).

We will fully fund eligible learning aims which support the upskilling of teaching or learning support staff to deliver improved specialist provision for learners with SEND within the adult/further education sector.

The above funding flexibility must be used to support eligible staff employed within the publicly funded adult and further education sectors in teaching or learning support roles.

Only learning aims approved by the GLA in advance of enrolment will be fundable within this flexibility. A list of eligible learning aims will be published on the GLA website and updated from time to time. In order to add a learning aim to this list of eligible learning aims, providers must submit a short business case, using a template found on the GLA website, to [email protected].

Learners aged 19 to 23 progressing towards their first full level two must undertake learning at entry and/or level one only from local flexibility.

Learners aged 19 to 23 who progress onto their first full level two, must only enrol on a qualification approved for funding from the qualifications website.

Learners aged 19 to 23 and aged 24 and over, who have already achieved at level two, or above, can undertake learning up to and including level two qualifications from the local flexibility offer or qualifications in the level two legal entitlement list available on the qualifications website or Find a Learning Aim.

Learners aged 24 and over who have not achieved a level two qualification can undertake learning up to and including level two qualifications from the local flexibility offer, or qualifications in the level two legal entitlement list available on the qualifications website or Find a Learning Aim.

The level of contribution we will fund is as follows.

You can view accessible version of Contribution table 1: 19-23 year- olds

The level of contribution we will fund is as follows.

You can view accessible version of Contribution table 2: 14+

The level of contribution we will fund is as follows.

You can view accessible version of Contribution table 2: 14+

Where you deliver regulated qualifications and/or their components you must ensure they are eligible for GLA funded AEB and available on Find a Learning Aim.

Where you deliver approved qualifications and/or their components you must ensure that learners are registered for the qualifications and/or component in line with the awarding policies and procedures. You must not ‘pre-register’ students a significant period in advance of the learner starting the qualification.

We will fund qualifications that are linked to occupational regulation/licence to practise. You can find more information about these qualifications on the Qualifications website.

Before delivering a component, you must check with the awarding organisation that they provide a learner registration facility and the learner can achieve it alone or as part of accumulating achievement towards a qualification.

If the UK ENIC has confirmed the authenticity of a qualification gained overseas and confirmed it is comparable/compatible with a regulated qualification in England, currently part of the level two and level three legal entitlement, the individual will be deemed to have achieved their first level two and/or level three qualification.

You must provide accurate Unique Learner Number (“ULN”) information to awarding organisations and ensure all information you use to register learners for qualifications is correct. You can find more information about the Learner Records Service guidance.

Where you deliver non-regulated learning you must ensure it is eligible for funding. Such learning could include:

• independent living skills or engagement learning supporting adults to operate confidently and effectively in life and work;
• locally-commissioned and/or locally-developed basic knowledge and skills needed to access technical qualifications;
• employability and labour market re-entry;
• locally-commissioned and/or locally-devised technical education short courses (also known as taster sessions); or
• community learning courses
• basic digital skills courses, including where learners are unable to undertake digital skills qualification specified in the digital entitlement (see the Digital entitlement for those aged 19 or over section)

The eligibility principles we apply to non-regulated learning are as follows:

• it must not be provision linked to UK visa requirements;
• it must not be provision linked to occupational regulation unless there is an agreed concession in place;
• it must not be restricted to being delivered to employees of only one employer;
• it must not be learning, for example, ‘induction to college’, that should be part of a learner’s experience;
• it must not be a non-regulated version of a regulated qualification;
• it must not be above notional level two (that is, at notional levels three or four);
• at notional level two it must focus on technical provision.

Where you are delivering non-regulated learning you must ensure you have appropriate and robust quality assurance processes in place. For instance ‘The Recognising and Recording Progress and Achievement (RARPA) Cycle’. Further information on RARPA is available from the Learning and Work Institute.

We will fund learning in the workplace where a learner has a legal entitlement to full funding for:

• English and/or maths up to and including level two (English and maths for those aged 19 or older); and/or
• a first full level two (Individuals aged 19 to 23 (excluding English, maths, digital and ESOL))
• a first full level three qualification (Individuals aged 19 to 23 (excluding English, maths, digital and ESOL))
• essential digital skills qualification, up to and including level one (Digital entitlement for those aged 19 or over)

We will fund learning in the workplace for the level three adult offer and level three flexibility.

We will not fund any qualification or learning aim delivered at an employee’s workplace, and is either relevant to their job or their employer’s business, unless:

• It is a legal entitlement qualification stated above
• It is a first qualification in BSL as stated in the British Sign Language section
• It is a national level concession that responds to a significant negative economic impact for a specific industry, or work placement or work experience, unless it is delivered as part of a traineeship programme, or the Prince’s Trust Team programme, or
• It is delivered in order to upskill staff to deliver improved specialist provision for learners with SEND within the adult and further education sectors, as outlined in the section Upskilling of teaching staff to deliver improved specialist provision for learners with SEND section.

We will fully fund individuals, including individuals who are employed, aged 19 or older, who have not previously attained a GCSE grade four (C), or higher, in English and maths, as part of their legal entitlement on the day they start the following qualifications:

• GCSE English language or maths;
• Functional Skills English or maths from Entry to level two;
• Stepping-stone qualifications (including components, where applicable) in English or maths approved by the Department for Education and ESFA.

If a learner wants to ‘retake’ their GCSE English and maths qualification because they did not achieve a grade four or higher (C or higher), we will not fund the learner to only resit the exam.

You must not enrol individuals on qualifications, which are not necessary for progressing towards a GCSE or Functional Skill level two.

You must not fund an apprentice for English or maths from the AEB.

We will fully fund non-regulated English and maths learning for learners, including those assessed at pre-entry level, aged 19 years and over with significant learning difficulties or disabilities as part of a personalised learning programme, where assessment has identified the learner cannot undertake provision identified in the English and maths for those aged 19 or older section.

You must:

• carry out a thorough initial assessment to determine an individual’s current level using current assessment tools based on the national literacy and numeracy standards and core curriculums or DfE published English and Maths Functional Skills subject content;
• carry out an appropriate diagnostic assessment to inform and structure a learner’s evidence pack to use as a basis for a programme of study;
• enrol the learner on a level above that at which they were assessed and be able to provide evidence of this;
• deliver ongoing assessment to support learning; and
• record the evidence of all assessment outcomes in the evidence pack.

The assessments must place a learner’s current skills levels within the level descriptors used for the RQF.

We will fully fund individuals, including individuals who are employed, aged 19 or older, assessed at below level one, as part of their legal entitlement on the day they start the following qualifications: Essential Digital Skills qualification (EDSQ up to and including level one)

We will fully fund non-regulated learning for learners, including those assessed at pre-entry level with significant learning difficulties and/or disabilities as part of a personalised learning programme, where assessment has identified the learner cannot undertake provision identified in the paragraph above. This provision must be aligned with the national standards for essential digital skills and must not be a non-regulated version of a regulated qualification as outlined in the non-regulated learning section(see rules for non-regulated learning, Non-regulated learning section).

You must:

• Carry out an initial assessment using current assessment tools based on the national standards for essential digital skills
• Carry out an appropriate diagnostic assessment to inform and structure a learner’s evidence pack to use as a basis for a programme of study
• Enrol the learner on a level above that at which they were assessed and be able to provide evidence of this
• Deliver ongoing assessment to support training
• Record the evidence of all assessment outcomes in the evidence pack.

The assessments must place a learner’s current skills levels within the level descriptors used for the RQF.

We will fully fund 19 to 23-year-olds, including individuals who are employed, on the day they start the following learning:

• qualifications defined within the legal entitlement that are a learner’s:
  • first full level two; and/or
  • first full level three as part of the legal entitlement and/or access to additional qualifications from the level three adult offer.
• local flexibility provision:
  • up to and including level one to support progression to a first full level two; and/or
  • level two for those who already have a full level two if they are unemployed or out of work and outside benefit arrangements.

We will co-fund provision up to, and including, a level two for learners who have already achieved a full level two, or above, who are employed. The low wage flexibility may apply, refer to the Learners in receipt of low wage section.

We will fully fund individuals aged 24 or older on the day they start the following learning:

• provision up to, and including, a level two, if they meet the criteria set out in the Unemployed or Individuals out of work and outside benefit arrangements sections.
• Qualifications from the level three adult offer, or above, if learners do not have a full level three qualification and they meet the eligibility criteria set out in the Level three Free Courses for Jobs section.

We will co-fund all other learners aged 24 years and older for provision up to, and including, a level two. Where learners are employed the low wage flexibility may apply, refer to the Learners in receipt of low wage section.

We will fully fund individuals aged 19 and over on the day they start their ESOL learning aim where they meet the criteria set out in the Unemployed or Individuals out of work and outside benefit arrangements sections.

We will co-fund all other individuals aged 19 and over on the day they start their ESOL learning aim. Where learners are employed the low wage flexibility may apply, refer to the Learners in receipt of low wage section.

We will fund ESOL learning up to and including Level two.

Providers offering ESOL qualifications may need to deliver additional learning to individual learners that incurs additional cost above the qualification rate. You can access information on this in the GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula for 2022 to 2023 or subsequent versions.

The following section outlines the flexibilities that have been introduced this year and retained from the previous academic year to support London’s Recovery.

We will fund learners with learning difficulties or disabilities as set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills, and Children and Learning Act 2009.

The ESFA has the responsibility for securing the provision of reasonable facilities for education and training suitable to the requirements of persons who are 19 and over. The ESFA has delegated this responsibility to the GLA. This includes learners with an identified learning difficulty or disability who have previously had an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHC) plan and have reached the age of 25.

The young people’s funding methodology will apply to learners aged 19 to 24 who have an EHC plan and require provision and support costs.

We will fund learners aged 19+ whose first language is BSL to study for a first qualification in BSL, up to and including level two as stated in the British Sign Language section.

To access provision and support costs you must inform us before the start of the 2022 to 2023 funding year where a learner:

• has reached the age of 25 and has not completed their programme of learning as set out in their EHC plan by the end of the previous funding year; or
• will reach the age of 25 in the funding year, where their EHC plan is not extended by their local authority to allow them to complete their programme of learning.

The learner must:

• have an EHC plan that confirms their needs could only be met by the training organisation they are, or were, attending;
• continue to make progress on the programme of learning as set out in their EHC plan.

If a learner has an EHC plan, you must report this in the ‘Learner funding and monitoring’ fields in the ILR.

We will not fund learners whose EHC plan is extended by the local authority beyond their 25th birthday. The local authority must continue to provide top-up funding and contract directly with the institution.

Where applicable, your AEB allocation will include an amount of non-formula community learning funding. We state this value in Appendix 1 of your grant agreement. You must deliver non-formula funded community learning provision in line with the existing community learning objectives set out in Annex 2, up to this maximum amount, and subject to any approved increases to your budget or reduction requests.

Non-formula community learning funding is paid on a monthly profile, see Annex 4. You must ‘attribute costs’ for eligible learners, up to the value of your non-formula community learning allocation. This should include the cost of delivering learning and any support costs, in line with learner and learning support as set out in the Learning Support, Exceptional learning support claims above £19,000, Learner Support, Hardship, 20+ childcare, Residential access funding, ICT devices and connectivity and job outcome payments sections. You must record these costs in the learner’s evidence pack.

You have the flexibility to use all, or some, of your non-formula community learning funding in line with the AEB formula-funded methodology (fund model 35), to meet local demand.

You can use this amount of non-formula community learning funding (stated in your Appendix 1) to deliver non-regulated provision that may be similar to community learning. If you do, you must:

• follow the AEB formula-funded methodology and submit ILR data under fund model 35; and
• enrol learners following the AEB eligibility requirements set out in the Contribution table 1: 19-23 year-olds, Contribution table 2: 24+, Definitions used in the AEB, Approved qualifications, Non-regulated learning, Learning in the workplace, English and maths for those aged 19 or older, Digital entitlement for those aged 19 or over, Individuals aged 19 to 23 (excluding English, maths, digital and ESOL), Individuals aged 24 or older (excluding English, maths, digital and ESOL), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), London Recovery Flexibilities, Learners with learning difficulties or disabilities, Learners with an Education, Health and Care Plan; you must not use your community learning local fee remission policy.

You can support learners aged under 19 if they meet both of the following criteria, the learner is:

• a parent, carer or guardian attending a wider family learning or family, English, maths or language course; and
• funded through non-formula community learning using funding model 10 in the funding model field (refer to ILR guidance for more information.)

You must not use non-formula community learning funding for learning that is eligible for funding through an advanced learner loan.

Pound Plus – the ‘Pound’ represents the public pound, the ‘Plus’ is everything else that you can generate in addition to your non-formula community learning funding allocation, such as fee income, funding from other sources, resources in kind and other sources of revenue/sponsorship/volunteering.

You must have in place a ‘Pound Plus’ policy. You must invest Pound Plus fee income/savings for the people who most need, and can least afford, community learning provision.

Local fee remission policy – you must have in place and operate a fair and transparent community learning local fee remission policy that requires individuals to pay for a course/tuition/joining fee, but also sets out clear eligibility criteria for those individuals who, due to their circumstances, qualify for either partial or total fee remission.

Your Pound Plus and Local Fee remission polices must be available on your website and/or in the venues you deliver community learning to eligible learners.

Partnership working underpins the community learning objectives and is critical to developing and delivering an effective community learning offer in a given locality.

You must engage and work closely with a wide range of relevant partners and stakeholders in your local area to help shape your community learning offer to engage specific groups. These could include specialist partners, such as health, Jobcentre Plus and schools, and voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations.

We expect you to work with other providers in your local area, who may be in receipt of non-formula community funding. We expect you to develop a strategic, efficient community learning offer to reduce duplication of courses in a locality, and signpost learners to other partners as and when appropriate.

In order to deliver the team programme, you must get approval from The Prince’s Trust.

For eligible learners aged 19 to 25, we fund the team programme through our AEB funding methodology. Please also refer to the Prince’s Trust section in the GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula for 2022 to 2023.

Learning support is available to meet the cost of putting in place a reasonable adjustment, as set out in the Equality Act 2010, for learners who have an identified learning difficulty or disability, to achieve their learning goal.

Learning support must not be used to deal with everyday difficulties that are not directly associated with a learner’s learning on their programme.

You must:

• carry out a thorough assessment to identify the support the learner needs;
• agree and record the outcome of your assessment in the evidence pack;
• record all outcomes on the evidence pack and keep all evidence of the assessment of the needs, planned and actual delivery; and
• report in the ILR that a learner has a learning support need associated with an identified learning aim, by entering code LSF1 in the ‘Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring’ field and entering the corresponding dates in the ‘Date applies from’ and ‘Date applies to’ fields.

All learning support claims must be reported in the ILR. To claim any costs that exceed the fixed monthly rate you must also use the Earning Adjustment Statement (EAS).

You must keep evidence of these additional costs in the evidence pack. You must only record the excess amount on the EAS, not the whole learning support cost.

There is one exception when you may claim the entire cost through the EAS. This is where the learning aim is delivered in less than one calendar month.

You can claim learning support if learning continues past the planned end date and the learner needs continued support in order to complete their programme.

You must submit ELS claims at the beginning of the learner's programme, or when you identify the learner requires support costs of more than £19,000 in a funding year, by completing and sending the GLA ELS claims document.

To claim exceptional learning support for a learner aged 19 to 24 you must confirm why the individual does not have an EHC plan. This should be a letter or email from the learner’s local authority stating the reason(s) why the individual does not need an EHC plan.

When you claim exceptional learning support you must explain why you have claimed the amount you have, which would be linked to the learner’s assessment and planned learning support claim. You must only claim amounts for your costs of providing the support

Learner support is available to provide financial support for individuals with a specific financial hardship preventing them from taking part/ continuing in learning. Before you award support to a learner, you must identify their needs within the following ‘categories’:

• hardship funding – general financial support for vulnerable and financially disadvantaged learners;
• 20+ childcare funding – for learners aged 20 or older on the first day of learning who are at risk of not starting or continuing learning because of childcare costs;
• Residential access funding – to support GLA AEB-funded learners (Who we fund section) where they need to live away from home in order to access provision; and
• ICT devices and connectivity - to support disadvantaged learners who cannot undertake online delivery

You must not claim more than five per cent of your total Learner Support final claim as administration expenditure. You must document your process for managing your administration costs over the current funding year and record, report and retain evidence on spending for each of the categories. If you do not have a Learner Support allocation, you must follow these rules and claim learner support using the earnings adjustment statement (EAS).

You must:

• have criteria for how you will administer and distribute your funds; these must reflect the principles of equality and diversity and be available to learners and to us on request
• assess and record the learner’s needs, demonstrating the need for support – you must record this information and retain in the evidence pack
• report the appropriate Learner Support Reason codes in the ‘Learner Funding and Monitoring’ fields in the ILR
• complete a mid-year funding forecast and a final claim
• consider the availability of other support for learners, for example from Jobcentre Plus
• make it clear to learners it is their responsibility to tell the Department for Work and Pensions about any learner support they are receiving from you, as learner support payments may affect their eligibility to state benefits.
• Use either AEB or loans bursary to support specific provision funded by either AEB or ALL where a learner is on two courses at the same time.

You must not use learner support funds for any of the following:

• essential equipment or facilities if the learner is eligible to receive full funding with the exception of the items covered in the Hardship section and the new flexibilities responding to Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the London recovery flexibilities sections.
• a learner in custody or released on temporary licence
• a learner carrying out a higher education course or learning aims fully funded from other sources
• to pay weekly attendance allowances or achievement and attendance bonuses.

You can use hardship funds for the following:

• course-related costs, including course trips, books and equipment (where costs are not included in the funding rate)
• support with domestic emergencies and emergency accommodation provided by others, or by providing items or services or cash direct to the learner, this can be in the form of a grant or repayable loan provided by you
• transport costs (but not make a block contribution to post-16 transport partnerships or routinely fund transport costs covered in the local authority’s legal duty for learners of sixth-form age)
• examination fees
• accreditation fees, professional membership fees and any fees or charges due to external bodies
• your registration fees

In exceptional circumstances, you can use hardship funds with course fees for learners who need financial support to start or stay in learning.

If an asylum seeker is eligible for provision, you may provide learner support in the form of course-related books, equipment, cash payments or a travel pass.

You can only use childcare funding to pay for childcare with a childminder, provider or childminder agency, registered with Ofsted.

You must not use childcare funding to:

• fund informal childcare, such as that provided by a relative
• set up childcare places or to make a financial contribution to the costs of a crèche
• fund childcare for learners aged under 20 on the first day of learning; instead you must direct them to the ESFA’s ‘Care to Learn’ programme.

You must not use childcare for those aged 20 years or older to top up childcare payments for those receiving ‘Care to Learn’ payments.

You can use residential access funding to support GLA-funded AEB learners who meet eligibility criteria, where they need to live away from home, for example to access specialist provision which involves a residential element, or to support learners who cannot access provision locally. You must:

• set out the criteria and procedures for considering and agreeing applications for support from your residential access funds
• only pay for travel costs for learners who are awarded residential access funding in exceptional circumstances.
• Only claim residential access funding for the period the learner is resident, this could be in accommodation you own or manage or other accommodation which you have agreed to fund in line with your criteria
• Ensure costs claimed represent value for money for the local area
• Where you have your own residential facilities you must publish your rates

You can support disadvantaged learners who are undertaking classroom or blended learning to continue to participate via online learning where the learner does not have:

• internet access at home, and/or
• a suitable device, for example a laptop or tablet, to compete the necessary online course work

You must secure value for money when purchasing IT devices and/or internet access including:

• deploying any unused devices before you purchase new ones
• exploring options to access low cost second hand or recycled devices
• avoiding entering long term contract arrangements
• holding a record of actual costs for any IT devices and/or internet access bought for this purpose and make this available to us, if asked

IT devices you purchase must only be loaned out to learners and returned at the end of their learning aim to allow them to be re-used by other learners. Learners must sign a declaration, confirming:

• they will return the device when their online learning aim(s) is complete, or if they leave before completing their learning
• they will return the device in the same condition in which they received it

You must maintain an up-to-date record of the loan and return of devices to learners.

You must record the following evidence in the learner’s evidence pack:

• the outcome of the assessment undertaken to identify the learner’s individual needs

the learner declaration referred to above

For fully funded learners who are unemployed, we will pay 50 per cent of the achievement payment if they start a job before achieving the learning aim. If the learner then achieves the learning aim, we will pay the remaining achievement payment. The following conditions apply:

• the learner must provide you with evidence through a declaration, that they have a job for at least 16 hours or more a week for four consecutive weeks
• Where the learner was claiming benefits relating to unemployment they must also declare that they have stopped claiming these.

The ESFA will continue to be responsible for AEB learners that are resident in a devolved/delegated area who were in learning prior to 1 August 2019 but did not complete by 31 July 2022 (continuing learners). You must ensure you meet the cost of continuing learners from within your ESFA funded AEB allocation, as you have always done.

Learners that started since the 1 August 2019 continue to be the GLA’s responsibility.

Your AEB is allocated to you as a block grant for 2022 to 2023. We will make payments on the standard national profile as set out in Table 1 of Annex 4.

Your grant agreement will state the maximum amount of AEB provision you can deliver between 1 August 2022 and 31 July 2023. It will also state the maximum value of non-formula funded community learning we will fund (where applicable to you).

Your AEB block grant can be used to fund new starts for adult skills, non-formula funded community learning (where applicable to you) and learner support.

You must provide three funding claims setting out your actual delivery to date and, where appropriate, provide a forecast for the remainder of the funding year. The funding claims must include adult skills, non-formula funded community learning and learner support funding. The funding claims you must provide are set out below but please refer to the funding claims guidance (when published) for details of the:

• the mid-year funding claim;
• the year-end forecast claim; and
• the final funding claim.

At the end of the 2022 to 2023 funding year we will apply a three per cent reconciliation tolerance for under-delivery. Where your delivery of the overall AEB is at least 97 per cent of your AEB block grant funding allocation, we will not make a year-end adjustment to your AEB block grant funding allocation and you will not have to pay back any unspent funds.

If you do not deliver 97 per cent or above, we will confirm the value of funding you must pay back in your reconciliation statement.

We will fund up to three per cent of over-delivery above your contract value at the end of the 2022 to 2023 funding year. This means we will fund delivery up to 103 per cent of your AEB allocation. Any delivery you undertake above this level is at your own risk.

Our calculation of the 97per cent and 103 per cent will only include delivery of non-formula funded community learning up to the value specified in your grant agreement (where applicable).

If a learner is continuing learning at the final R14 data collection at the end of the year, but you record in a subsequent ILR year that they should have left in the previous ILR year, you will have earned funding that you need to pay back. You can pay this funding back through the earnings adjustment statement as per the GLA AEB Funding Rates and Formula for 2022 to 2023. You will be required to submit an additional return identifying the learner who is the subject of the late data and further guidance on the process is included in the GLA AEB Technical Guidance for Providers.

AEB block grants and AEB contract for services remain separate with different payment and performance management arrangements. You cannot vire funds between the two without our prior written approval.

We will provide information on opportunities to request increases to your adult education budget in early 2023 by submitting a growth business case.

GLA Provider Managers will work closely with AEB providers to ensure that their delivery and performance meets the criteria agreed in the grant agreement. GLA Provider Managers will undertake regular monitoring visits to providers and will raise any concerns regarding delivery, including performance, at the earliest opportunity.

Where issues with performance and/or the quality of delivery are identified, we will work with you, the ESFA and Mayoral Combined Authorities (where appropriate) to develop an action plan to address these issues. If performance does not improve in accordance with the action plan, we reserve the right to reduce your grant value.

We will use our approach to funding to make sure learning provision is of a high quality. We will use your track record to assess your ability to deliver education and training to the required standard. We may not consider growth requests and may reduce or remove your allocation if one or more of the following is true:

• your Ofsted grade is inadequate
• you are in formal intervention for minimum standards or inspection
• you have been issued with a notice for financial management and control
• you have been issued with a notice to improve, additional conditions of funding or additional contractual obligations in relation to minimum quality standards for 19+ education and training
• you have significantly underdelivered against your contract value in previous years
• you are subject to an investigation for breach of contract and/or failed audit.

Please refer to GLA Managing Provider Performance for further details on GLA AEB Grant-funded provision monitoring and intervention processes.

Due to the need to maintain social distancing, we recognise that there will be a continuing impact of COVID-19 in 2022/23. We will take into account the impact as part of the reconciliation process for 2022/23. Providers should seek to ensure that AEB funding is fully utilised for the purpose of supporting the London recovery through the delivery of adult education and skills, in particular engaging those Londoners who are recently unemployed.