Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what public funding has been provided to the Workers Educational Association in each of the last three years; and what plans the Government has to fund the Workers Educational Association in the future.

The table attached shows the amount funding paid by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) to the Workers Educational Association for the past three funding years (from August to July).

The Workers Educational Association are in scope to receive an allocation and will be notified of the amount of funding available to them shortly.

For 2018 to 2019, the ESFA will continue to allocate the Adult Education Budget (AEB).

From 2019 to 2020, responsibility for the AEB will be devolved to eight Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and the Greater London Authority.

Once authorities take on the role they will, within the agreed conditions of their devolution deal, be responsible for commissioning AEB provision in their local areas, having the freedom to set their own priorities, whilst still being subject to the statutory duties of my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State. This will allow them to focus on meeting local area need and delivering local economic objectives.

The ESFA will continue to allocate funding to providers that do not deliver in the devolved areas.