In the news · 31 March 2020 · FEWEEK
Supplier relief: Deal to pay private training providers with no course delivery for next three months
A letter sent last night from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) to its adult education budget providers (see links below) said monthly profile payments will be made to providers based on an average of their monthly earnings over the previous three months.
The announcement appears to be the first of its kind based on Cabinet Office supplier relief support due to COVID-19 and comes ahead of any news of support from the Education and Skills Funding Agency.
Last Friday, the chief secretary to the Treasury, Steve Barclay said in answer to a parliamentary question that “both the Treasury and Department for Education are exploring the impact of the current disruption with training providers” but that they are still working on “detailed operational guidance, which will be circulated as soon as possible”.
As the COVID-19 crisis unfolds it is leading to significant fluctuations in demand for various skills sets across the region. The WMCA’s model gives us the flexibility we need to be nimble in responding to those variances. More fundamentally, the model vindicates the decision to devolve adult education funding provision.” Lawrence Barton
