Uplift factors and postcode files
Reference data sets for area cost factor uplifts and disadvantage factor uplifts for data / management information purposes relating to ESFA funding.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
You might find these adult skills fund (ASF) data files showing the funding bodies that are responsible for funding each postcode in England useful.
We use this data in funding calculations to support publicly funded education and skills in England; covering 16 to 19 study programmes, adult education budget (AEB), level 3 free courses for jobs (FCFJ), apprenticeships, the European Social Fund and advanced learner loans bursary. This includes devolved AEB and level 3 FCFJ qualifications funded by mayoral combined authorities or the Greater London Authority.
AEB postcode files
To support the devolution of AEB, we have produced postcode files to show which postcodes are within the devolved areas, and consequently which body is responsible for AEB learners resident in a given postcode.
How we use data from different years
For funded learners aged 16 to 19, we apply the most recent single funding year’s factors to all learners in that funding year, regardless of their start date.
For adult-funded aims and apprenticeship frameworks, we changed our calculations in the 2016 to 2017 year to apply the factor or cash value in our calculations based on the date when the learner started the aim or programme. For example, for learners who started adult-funded aims or apprenticeship frameworks from 1 August 2017 to 31 July 2018, we used the values from the 2017 to 2018 tables in the funding calculations for 2018 to 2019 and then in subsequent years.
Postcodes area cost uplifts
The area cost uplift reflects the higher cost of delivering provision in some parts of the country, such as London and the south east.
Disadvantage uplifts
These are uplifts or amounts for learners living in the most disadvantaged areas of the country.
Historically we have used various versions of the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) to determine disadvantage factors and uplifts.
The IMD is assigned based on lower layer super output areas (LSOAs). LSOAs are a set of geographical areas developed, following the 2001 census, with the aim of defining areas of consistent size whose boundaries would not change between censuses.
Therefore, we initially set disadvantage factors at LSOA level, and then apply the factors to postcodes within each LSOA. We publish disadvantage information on this page at LSOA level and also at postcode level.
For the year 2021 to 2022 onwards, we use the 2019 IMD for provision funded by Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA). This used the LSOA mapping from the 2011 census.
For the year 2016 to 2017 up to and including the year 2020 to 2021, we used the 2015 IMD. This used the LSOA mapping from the 2011 census.
Up to the funding year 2015 to 2016, we used the 2010 IMD which used the LSOAs from the 2001 census as its underlying mapping.
Mayoral combined authorities and the Greater London Authority may wish to set different disadvantage factors to ESFA for AEB provision they fund, and the data for the 2021 to 2022 year includes disadvantage factors where they vary from ESFA-funded factors.
We will indicate which organisation’s funding applies to each factor using a ‘SOFCode’ field in the files published here.
The SOFCode field uses values from the individualised learner record’s (ILR) source of funding (SOF) code. The values we use are taken from the codes with a type of ‘SOF’ which can be used in the ILR’s learning delivery funding and monitoring code field. For example, code 115 represents Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
However, because the disadvantage factors are the same for SOF 105 and SOF 107, and to reduce the numbers of rows in the published files to make them easier to open in spreadsheet software, we have merged records together which would have been codes 105 and 107, with a SOFCode value of ‘105/107’.
Disadvantage uplift factors at LSOA level
The LSOA files show the disadvantage uplifts that apply to LSOA areas for the relevant funding year.
Postcodes may change their assigned LSOA during the year due to boundary changes. We freeze values based on a postcode’s LSOA at the start of the funding year and this can result in some postcodes currently within an LSOA having a different value to the one published for that LSOA in the LSOA file.
Disadvantage uplift factors at postcode level
The postcode files show the disadvantage uplifts that apply to LSOAs for the relevant funding year.
We calculate the uplift values using the LSOA category of each postcode, and the disadvantage uplifts held at LSOA level.
Postcode disadvantage funding within apprenticeships
The disadvantage funding for apprenticeships only applies to provision that is apprenticeship framework based, and that start on or before 31 July 2020. Also, the additional payments for disadvantage are earned at 90 and 365 days into the programme, which means many of these additional payments will be earned by 31 July 2021. Therefore, we will no longer update the apprenticeship disadvantage values beyond the 2020 to 2021 year.
For 2020 to 2021 and earlier years, the final column shows the cash value of disadvantage funding which we use in the funding calculations for apprenticeship frameworks that started from 1 May 2017. We derived these cash values from the LSOA, based on the English indices of deprivation 2015.
More information is available within the apprenticeship funding technical guide.
Large employer file
This only applies to apprenticeship framework starts before 1 May 2017.
The large employer file is used in the apprenticeship funding calculation by providing a list of workplace location identifiers that we match to the ILR to determine whether the large employer discount applies.
As this part of the calculation only applies to starters before 1 May 2017, we are no longer publishing new versions of this file, but we will still use the data in calculations while those learners remain on programme.
If an apprenticeship framework programme started before 1 August 2016, we use the value in the 2015 to 2016 large employer file in the calculations. If an apprenticeship framework started from 1 August 2016 to 30 April 2017, we use the value in the 2016 to 2017 large employer file.
Updates to this page
Last updated 21 November 2024 + show all updates
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We have revised the 2024 to 2025 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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We have published the 2024 to 2025 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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We have revised the 2023 to 2024 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have revised the 2023 to 2024 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have revised the 2023 to 2024 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have added the uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files for the 2023 to 2024 academic year.
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We have revised the 2022 to 2023 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have revised the 2022 to 2023 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have revised the 2022 to 2023 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have updated the 2022 to 2023 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have updated the 2021 to 2022 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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We have updated the 2021 to 2022 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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We have updated the postcode data due to an issue encountered.
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We have updated the 2021 to 2022 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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We have added the area cost postcode factor file for the 2021 to 2022 year.
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We have added the postcode factor files for academic year 2021 to 2022.
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We have updated the 2020 to 2021 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA files.
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We have updated the 2020 to 2021 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA files.
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We have added the postcode factor files for academic year 2020 to 2021.
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We have updated the postcode factors for 2019 to 2020
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We have updated the 2019 to 2020 postcode factors zip file
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We have uploaded updated postcode factor files for academic year 2019 to 2020
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We have updated the text on the page
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We have updated the 2018 to 2019 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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We have updated the 2018 to 2019 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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We have published 2018 to 2019 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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Updated 2017 to 2018 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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New file titled 2017 to 2018 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files uploaded on 11 August 2017.
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Updated 2016 to 2017 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files.
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Editorial changes made to detail section of the page on 19 December 2016.
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Revised version of: * 2016 to 2017 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: csv files * 2015 to 2016 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: csv files uploaded on 28 November 2016.
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New version of 2016 to 2017 large employer file uploaded on 18 October 2016.
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2016 to 2017 large employer file uploaded on 11 August 2016.
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2016 to 2017 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files uploaded on 11 August 2016.
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New version of 2015 to 2016 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA csv file uploaded on 22 December 2015.
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2015 to 2016 Large Employer File uploaded on 10 September 2015.
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New file 2015 to 2016 Uplift Factors by Postcode and LLSOA uploaded on 24 August 2015.
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New version of 2014 to 2015 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA uploaded on 22 June 2015.
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Updated 2014-15 Uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA file uploaded on 23 April 2015.
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New Postcode Uplift Factors 2014 to 2015 uploaded 10 December 2014.
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New 2014 to 2015 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files zip uploaded on 7 November 2014.
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Large employer file (CSV) uploaded on 22 September 2014.
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New document added - 2013 to 2014 uplift factors by postcode and LLSOA: CSV files
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First published.