Skills role under threat
- Published: 28 August 2008 08:01
- Author: Dan Drillsma-Milgrom
- More by this Author
- Last Updated: 28 August 2008 08:52
Groups of councils without well-developed city region plans could lose significant powers over further education, according to recently published government guidance.
Skills and training form a key part of many councils' local area agreements (LAAs) and city regions' multi-area agreements (MAAs).
But the guidance sets challenging deadlines for councils to justify why their further education services should not be commissioned by a new government quango, the Young People's Learning Agency (YPLA).
The Local Government Association said the deadlines - issued by the Department for Children, Schools & Families (DCSF) and the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS) - would prove challenging for many councils.
"We all know this is happening at the speed of light," said education policy officer Daniel Mason. "An awful lot of authorities will have to look at this in some detail and fairly rapidly."
The government made a commitment to transfer £7bn of funding for sixth forms, sixth form colleges and further education colleges to local authority budgets by September 2010 as part of last year's sub-national review of economic development and regeneration.
In a white paper published earlier this year, the two departments stated they wanted to see power devolved to the sub-regional level.
However, a guidance note issued by the departments last month revealed sub-regional groupings will be separated into two models - those commissioning further education services directly and those that have it done for them by the YPLA.
According to the note, councils will have until 26 September to give "an early initial indication" of which model the group intends to operate.
For those councils deemed incapable of commissioning services themselves, "the YPLA will exercise its power to plan and commission provision".
A report out by the New Local Government Network thinktank said it would be "unreasonable" not to give councils direct commissioning powers.
