Correspondence

ESFA Update local authorities: 19 May 2021

Published 19 May 2021

This correspondence was withdrawn on 23 December 2022

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. Read the latest editions of ESFA Update for the latest news and information.

Applies to England

1. Latest information on coronavirus (COVID-19)

The Department for Education has published guidance about COVID-19 in educational settings for staff, parents and carers, pupils and students on GOV.UK.

Please check GOV.UK regularly for updates.

2. Reminder: year-end forecast funding claim for 2020 to 2021

The year-end forecast funding claim window will open at 9am on Tuesday 8 June 2021.

We understand that this is a difficult time for everyone, and time and resources are under strain. However, we will require you to submit an accurate year-end claim as this will enable us to inform you of your indicative reconciliation figure prior to final claim submission in October 2021. 

Please submit your year-end funding claim by 4pm on Friday 11 June 2021.The claim form will be available on Submit Learner Data. 

You will need to submit a claim if you receive funds through: 

• grant funded – ESFA adult education budget (AEB) (adult skills, community learning, 19 to 24 traineeships and COVID-19 skills offer) 
• learner support for ESFA AEB procured (adult skills and 19 to 24 traineeships) – paid-on-profile 
• 19 to 24 traineeships 2020 procurement - learner support – paid-on-profile 
• grant funded - Advanced Learner Loans Bursary (ALLB) 
• 16 to 19 education 

Once you have submitted your claim you will also be able to view it on the Manage your education and skills funding. 

If you have any queries, you can get help with ESFA services. 

3. Information: coronavirus (COVID-19) response – capping

This is relevant to you if you have either of the following allocations for 2020 to 2021: 

• procured adult education budget (AEB) including 19 to 24 traineeships 
• advanced learner loans bursary (ALLB) 
• 16 to 18 traineeships (funded separately through an EDSK contract and not part of 16 to 19 education funding) 

The funding and performance management rules for 2020 to 2021 state that at the end of the funding year (R14) we will remove financial year controls for those funded through a contract for service up to defined limits.  

ESFA will now bring this forward to ensure that any over delivery from the August 2020 to March 2021 period is to be paid by utilising the April 2021 to August 2021 period funding, up to the full 12 month contract value. This means that from May 2021 onwards any delivery earned over the financial year allocation that was previously capped will now be paid based on the full 12 month contract value. As stated within the funding rules this will be up to 103% for adult skills and 110% for traineeships. 

The same methodology will also apply to the ALLB and 16 to 18 traineeships contract for services delivery. 

This is only for this year due to the exceptional COVID-19 challenges, the funding rules/timelines will apply in future years. 

If you have any questions, please contact your territorial team. 

4. Information: post-16 capacity fund now open for bids

The post-16 capacity fund was launched on Tuesday 18 May. Sixth form colleges, 16 to 19 academies, 16 to 19 free schools (inclusive of university technical colleges and maths schools), and further education colleges can bid for funding to add extra capacity where there is a pressing need for places for 16 to 19 year olds in their local area. 

This fund will deliver the government’s 2020 Spending Review commitment to make available £83m in 2021 to 2022 to ensure that post-16 providers can accommodate the expected demographic increase in 16 to 19 year olds, and learners can gain the skills they need to progress and help the economy to grow.    

We have published guidance, which sets out how eligible providers should bid for funding and the key criteria against which bids will be assessed. Good evidence of need for additional capacity will be expected. 

All bid applications including all supporting documentation must be submitted by 11.59pm on 14 June 2021.

5. Information: EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS)

With the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) application deadline now less than 50 days away, the Home Office would appreciate your continued support in reminding parents, families, young people and staff that if they are an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen, they and their family members may be eligible to apply to the Settlement Scheme.

It is crucial that eligible parents apply to the Scheme themselves and check whether they need to do so on behalf of their children. Eligible children are required to have an application in their own right and no child of any age is covered by a parent’s application to the EUSS. There’s more information on this here on GOV.UK. 

To provide additional guidance, an EUSS leaflet has been produced by the University of Liverpool, in partnership with the Home Office. It has been designed with children in mind and is intended to support both children and parents with information to help them apply to the EUSS. A set of accompanying FAQs are available too.

We would be grateful if you could signpost this leaflet and our other EUSS resources across your own communications channels to encourage eligible parents to apply on behalf of themselves and their children. A list of organisations providing additional EUSS guidance and information is available on GOV.UK.  

Applications to the EUSS are free and can be made online at www.gov.uk/eusettlementscheme, where you can also find out more information about how to apply.