Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department plans to take to (a) monitor and (b) evaluate the potential impact of changes to the level of funding for the Adult Skills Fund in (i) devolved and (ii) non-devolved areas in the 2025-26 (a) financial and (b) academic years.

The department will provide approximately £1.4 billion in funding for the adult skills fund (ASF) in the 2025/26 academic year to ensure that adult learners can access the education and training they need to get into employment or progress in work.

As of August 2025, the department will have devolved 68% of the ASF to mayoral strategic authorities, who are responsible for adult skills provision in their areas. These authorities have autonomy in deciding how to use their funding and are responsible for the allocation of the ASF to learning providers. The department is responsible for managing non-devolved ASF.

In non-devolved areas, adults earning less than £25,000 annual gross salary are eligible for full funding through the ASF. This directly supports social mobility by enabling those moving from unemployment to progress in work. The ASF also funds Learner Support and Learning Support which enables learning providers to help learners facing specific financial hardship, learning difficulties and/or disabilities to overcome barriers which prevent them from taking part in learning.

The department’s allocation methodology for the 2025/26 academic year recognises priority courses, as well as providers with a strong track record of delivering above their allocations and providing for more learners. As a result, there will be a significant number of providers who will see their allocations increase in the 2025/26 academic year.

The department considered the impact of all its funding decisions and, as part of managing the ASF in non-devolved areas, the department considers the impacts of any previous changes when making policy decisions.