Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on local authorities of funding changes for English for speakers of other languages programmes.

Through the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) supports adults aged 19+ in England who speak English as a second or additional language to access English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision. ASF co-funds or fully-funds ESOL provision subject to the eligibility requirements laid out in the ASF rules. ESOL allows learners to develop the English language skills they need for everyday life, work or further learning.

Currently, approximately 68% of the ASF is devolved to 12 Strategic Authorities (SAs) and the Greater London Authority (GLA). These authorities are responsible for the provision of ASF-funded adult education for their residents, the allocation of the ASF to learning providers, and deciding how the ASF best meets the needs of their local economy. By honouring our commitments to combine and further devolve adult skills funding, we give those with local knowledge the power they need to make decisions that are best for their areas. The DWP has not made recent changes to the way the ASF operates regarding ESOL.

The DWP is responsible for the remaining ASF in non-devolved areas, where colleges and learning providers have the freedom and flexibility to determine how they use their ASF allocations from the department to meet the needs of their communities. Where ASF funded provision is not available the Flexible Support Fund is sometimes used to procure ESOL provision that enables individuals to move into sustained employment, increase their earnings whilst in work, or move closer to the labour market. We also give providers in receipt of an ASF allocation from the department the opportunity to earn an additional 10% on top of their ASF allocation for over-delivery to support growth in adult skills participation, by giving them the confidence to increase the volume of training and invest in high value skills provision.

In non-devolved areas, learners earning less than 25,750 (annual gross salary), are eligible for full funding through the DWP’s ASF. This directly supports social mobility by allowing individuals to move out of unemployment or progress further in their career. The ASF also funds 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 learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.

The learner’s immigration permission in the UK may have a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition. Public funds does not include education or education funding. Therefore, this does not affect a learner’s eligibility, which must be decided under the normal eligibility conditions. Detailed eligibility rules are published online.