Guidance

How to declare subcontracting arrangements for post-16 education and training

Updated 18 June 2024

Applies to England

Introduction

Lead providers delivering Department for Education (DfE) funded post-16 education and training need to declare their subcontracting arrangements to DfE at least twice a year. This is to make sure that we know:

• what our supply chain looks like
• the type and value of subcontracted provision

The deadlines for declaring your subcontracting arrangements for 2024 to 2025 are:

• window 1, 31 October 2024 – you should submit your forecasted delivery for the 2024 to 2025 academic year in this window
• window 2, 30 June 2025 – you should submit an updated and final account of subcontracted delivery for the 2024 to 2025 academic year in this window

If you do not subcontract, you must still provide a nil return to confirm this for both windows.

Which providers need to declare their subcontracting

All lead providers (excluding schools and academies) who have an active contract or funding agreement for delivery of post-16 education and training must make a declaration. This includes:

• adult skills fund (ASF)
• traineeships
• apprenticeships
• 16 to 19 programmes

Lead providers must have received at least one individualised learner record (ILR) payment in the relevant funding year.

Providers cannot subcontract courses paid for with Advanced Learner Loans. If we identify subcontracting of all or part of your Advanced Learner Loan delivery, we will recover the funds.

Schools and academies who do not subcontract are exempt from making a declaration.

EEP activity

If you subcontract 16 to 19 provision, you must declare if you subcontract any employability, enrichment and pastoral (EEP) activity.

All funded provision, including EEP activity, is a funded part of a study programme. A third party delivering any activity is determined to be a subcontractor. The arrangement must meet our subcontracting controls guidance, and the lead provider must include the third party in their subcontracting declaration.

Qualification hours

Qualification hours, or planned learning hours, directly relate to the student’s study programme. This means they:

• are timetabled, organised or supervised by the institution
• take place within the institution’s normal working pattern

Non-qualification hours

Non-qualification hours cover EEP activity.  These hours must be timetabled, organised or supervised by the institution.

Non-qualification hours can include time spent on:

• working towards internally developed, assessed and awarded qualifications in the funded institution
• gaining experience, including activities to give young people the skills they need to live more independently and be integrated within their community
• tutorials
• work experience and other work-related activities
• paid or unpaid volunteering, community activities or enrichment activities organised and quality assured by, or on behalf of, the institution
• activities such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award that might lead to an award, but is not listed on the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) list of qualifications approved for 14 to 19 funding
• enrichment activity, such as personal and social development

Declaring EEP activity

If EEP activity is included in your 16 to 19 provision, you must declare it. You need to:

• select non-qualification hours
• tell us how much you are paying your subcontractor

Process

All lead providers must declare their subcontracting arrangements for the period 1 August to 31 July through the manage your education and skills funding (MYESF) service.

Lead providers are required to report at least twice a year. At the start of the period, lead providers must:

• submit their forecasted delivery
• update their declaration whenever they make any change to their subcontracting arrangements – this includes adding or removing subcontractors or changing the information of a previously submitted declaration

At the end of the period, lead providers should submit their actual delivery.

If lead providers do not subcontract but receive direct funding, they need to make a nil declaration.

Lead providers need one of the following MYESF roles to complete and submit a declaration:

• contract authoriser
• contract manager
• data returns and claims authoriser

Lead providers can check the user roles and permissions in MYESF. Use the ESFA online enquiry form if you have any questions.

Lead providers will need to know:

• the names of their subcontractors
• how much money they will have paid their subcontractor from 1 August to 31 July
• which funding stream the lead provider is subcontracting
• the number of learners or apprentices
• where the training will take place

Lead providers who subcontract also need to:

• publish their policy for subcontracting delivery on their website
• include a link to this policy as part of the subcontractor declaration (excluding employer providers who only deliver the apprenticeship funding stream)

If we do not receive this as part of your declaration, we will contact you to provide the link separately and further action may be taken.

Subcontracting for the first time

Lead providers need to request permission to start subcontracting if they are subcontracting out provision for the first time which includes ASF or 16 to 19 provision. Find out more about subcontracting ESFA post-16 education and training for the first time.

Fraud

We will take action to recover funds if there is any fraudulent activity. Fraudulent activity includes:

• failure to declare a subcontracting arrangement
• making a false declaration
• abuse of position

Where necessary, we will report any suspected criminal activity to the appropriate authority.