Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of Birmingham Council issuing a Section 114 notice on the provision of (a) adult and (b) further education.

The Birmingham Adult Education Service, part of Birmingham City Council, is responsible for adult education across the city. Following the devolution of adult funding in August 2019, the responsibility for funding the Adult Education Service transferred to the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA). The Combined Authority confirms that it has held initial conversations with the Birmingham Adult Education Service senior team and expects no impact on devolved AEB delivery following the issuing of the Section 114 notice, as the grant is ring fenced and adult education is a strategic priority. The Department’s Territorial Team meets regularly with WMCA and will assess the situation on an ongoing basis. The Adult Education Service also receives small scale non-devolved AEB and further education loans funding of approximately £290,000 from the Education and Skills Funding Agency and this will be managed through the usual performance management process.