Correspondence

Update: issue 340 (21 December 2016)

Updated 21 December 2016

This correspondence was withdrawn on 17 February 2020

This has been withdrawn as it’s out of date. SFA Update has been replaced by ESFA Update.

Applies to England

1. Finance record 2015 to 2016

Action

We have updated the finance record 2015 to 2016 and the latest version is available on GOV.UK.

We have listed the details of the amendments in the version control record on the contents worksheet.

Providers should submit the following documents to pfm@sfa.bis.gov.uk by 31 December.

• audited annual report and financial statements
• finance record signed by the accounting officer (scanned copy of signed version and unsigned excel version)
• external auditor’s management letter, including the college’s response
• annual report of the college’s audit committee
• where appropriate, audited annual report and financial statements of subsidiary company accounts

For further information or related queries, providers should email pfm@sfa.bis.gov.uk.

2. Final reconciliation statements and capping release 2015 to 2016

Information

Colleges and other training organisations funded through a grant for adult skills budget, discretionary learner support, advanced learning loans bursary and community learning can now view their final reconciliation statements on the Skills Funding Service. Final reconciliation payments/recoveries will be processed in January 2017.

We will issue contract variations during January 2017 to private training providers who have had payments capped and are within agreed funding policy.

We have published additional policy information on GOV.UK.

3. SFA takes over issuing certificates for apprenticeship standards

Information

From 1 January 2017 the Skills Funding Agency will take over responsibility for issuing certificates to apprentices completing an apprenticeship standard from the Federation for Industry Sector Skills & Standards (FISSS). From this date apprenticeship end-point assessment organisations will request apprenticeship certificates from us. We are contacting these organisations directly with details of the process for them to use from January.

This only applies to standards. There is no change for apprentices completing an apprenticeship framework: providers will still apply to FISSS for certificates.

If you require further information please contact your business operations provider manager.

4. Provisional qualification achievement rates and minimum standards dashboards 2015 to 2016

Information

We will shortly publish provisional 2015 to 2016 qualification achievement rates (QAR) and minimum standards to the Hub. The QAR cover apprenticeships and education and training.

We will make a provider level business intelligence (BI) dashboard and a detailed data extract available on the Hub. You can access the dashboard from the Hub using the ‘My BI’ tab. We aim to publish the final QAR data following publication of the next SFR at the end of January 2017. We would welcome your feedback at the earliest opportunity but no later than Monday 16 January 2017.

For help and advice on how to access the Hub user roles, or any other related queries, please email the Service Desk.

5. Updated provider data self-assessment toolkit

Information

We have released an updated version of the provider data self-assessment toolkit (PDSAT) for the 2016 to 2017 funding year on the PDSAT section of GOV.UK.

The PDSAT assists colleges and training organisations with their routine ILR data-checking procedures for data returns in 2016 to 2017.

This version enables funding information system (FIS) input and includes the facility for recording user annotations.

For further information, please email pfm@sfa.bis.gov.uk.