Askham Bryan College: Newton Rigg College

(asked on 22nd February 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the acquisition of Newton Rigg College in Cumbria by Askham Bryan College in York in 2011 met their standards of propriety in public sector procurement; and what plans they have, if any, to review the negotiation process that took place during the acquisition.


Answered by
Baroness Berridge Portrait
Baroness Berridge
This question was answered on 8th March 2021

Following the decision by the University of Cumbria in 2010, to cease delivering the provision of further education funded by the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People’s Learning Agency, the Skills Funding Agency led an open and competitive procurement process, in accordance with Part B of Schedule 3 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2006, to secure an alternative provider or providers for the delivery of arts provision in Carlisle and predominately land-based provision at Newton Rigg. As a result of this competition, the funding for students studying further education at the University’s Brampton Road building was transferred to Carlisle College, and the funding for students studying further education at Newton Rigg, together with the further education assets at Newton Rigg, was transferred to Askham Bryan College. The procurement was subject to a review by Cabinet Office in 2011 and its findings have been published on gov.uk and are attached.

The successor organisation to the Skills Funding Agency, the Education and Skills Funding Agency now procure provision in accordance with the requirements of the Public Contracts Regulations, 2015. In some circumstances, for example the provision of education and training for young people, separate arrangements apply, but processes and procedures are fair and transparent. Where this applies, we use a mix of local negotiation and tendering appropriate to the circumstances in each case.

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