Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the (a) adequacy and (b) sustainability of funding for specialist adult education services supporting deaf learners.

The Adult Skills Fund (ASF) fully funds or co-funds education and skills training for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning.

The ASF also funds learning providers to help adult learners to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning. This includes Learner Support to support learners with a specific financial hardship, and Learning Support to meet the additional needs of disabled learners and/or learners with learning difficulties.

Learning Support funding enables providers to support learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities by helping providers meet the costs of implementing reasonable adjustments as set out in the Equality Act 2010. Support can cover a range of needs including funding to pay for specialist equipment or helpers and arranging signers or note takers. There is no cap on the funding that a provider can spend to meet the individual needs of the adult learner, meaning the individual can be supported throughout their learning.

Currently, the government has devolved approximately 68% of the ASF to 12 Strategic Authorities and the Greater London Authority. These authorities are responsible for the provision of the ASF to their residents and allocation of the ASF to their learning providers. Although Strategic Authorities have flexibility in how they use their ASF funds, they are still required to provide equal treatment and access to provision for adult skills funded learners under the Equality Act 2010 by providing any required relevant adjustments.

The overall ASF budget, which includes learning support, is kept under regular review through normal Spending Review cycles, alongside wider priorities.