1.5 million adults are missing out on upskilling opportunities because of government underspend FOI reveals
A recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request found a £1.2bn funding gap over the course of nine years, prompting experts to highlight that reskilling in adulthood ‘couldn’t be more important’
The Advanced Learner Loan Scheme was initially launched in 2013 to help people over the age of 19 to fund courses from college and other learning providers, with the Department for Education setting an annual budget for the programme, however, the FOI request found that there has been a £1.16bn underspend across the life of the programme.
On average, the Department of Education underspent by 42% each year, and last year alone saw the scheme underspend by £97m
People who use the scheme receive on average £770, meaning that last year’s underspend could have helped an additional 120,00 adults access courses.
The Department for Education said it was “untrue to suggest that the government underspent” on the scheme as the funding was “based on learner needs and demand”, they also stated “This Government is committed to meeting the needs of learners which is why we announced an additional £3.8 billion for skills during the 2012 spending review”
While adding more money to the budget could show the Department of Education isn’t neglecting the scheme, it’s hard to see how this will help as the budget is already underspending and failing to increase upskilling & training in adults.
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