£1.5bn needed to reverse low numbers of adult learners

The Local Government Association has warned that reductions in adult education funding have coincided with a drop of 3.8 million adult learners since 2010.

Council leaders claim that thousands of disadvantaged adults are being held back from vital support to help them get on in life with funding for adult learning falling by almost half over the last decade. As it stands, and despite needing it the most, adults with the lowest qualifications are the least likely to access adult training.

Therefore, the LGA is urging the government to at least double the Adult Education Budget from £1.5 billion to £3 billion. Furthermore, increasing adult education funding and devolving it to councils and combined authorities would enable them to deliver much-needed skills provision to help adults that need support the most get the skills they need to progress in life, in a way that cannot be achieved by our centralised employment and skills system run from Whitehall.

Council leaders stress that six million people in England risk being without a job or in work they are over-qualified for by 2030, which could lead to a potential loss of £120 billion in economic output by the end of the decade.

Kevin Bentley, chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board, said: “Additional funding to local authority adult education providers has the ability to transform people’s lives by supporting the most vulnerable, including the long-term unemployed, or those out of work due to redundancy, ill-health or caring responsibilities to get the support they need. A lack of support is holding back adults that need help the most – putting the mental health and wellbeing of our communities at risk and increasing their likelihood of isolation and loneliness.

“Councils are committed to supporting the government to reduce inequality in our regions. With much-needed investment, adult learning can improve health and well-being, upskill our workforce, support disadvantaged groups, reduce unemployment and underemployment, promote economic growth, reduce the welfare bill, and decrease social isolation, anxiety and loneliness. By increasing adult education funding and handing control over how it’s spent locally, councils and combined authorities can help revolutionise adult education support, getting thousands more people the support they need to get on in their careers.”