Lord Hill announces funding package for sixth-form colleges

Sixth-form colleges in England will receive much needed investment as Schools Minister Lord Hill today announces a £90 million package of funding. The money will enable sixth-form colleges to make essential improvements to buildings and will help those schools and academies with sixth forms to meet the demand for additional 16-19 student places.

The funding package for 2011-12 includes:

• £57.4 million to address priority building condition needs of the sixth-form college estate
• £30 million for basic need funding for 16-19 student places to help sixth -form colleges,  schools and academies meet the demands of demographic changes
• making all sixth-form colleges eligible for Devolved Formula Capital for the first time – funding for maintenance will be given directly to the institution. This means the average sixth-form college will receive an additional £40,000.

Announcing the funding package, Schools Minister Lord Hill said:

I know that there are sixth-form colleges with building needs which have missed out on previous capital programmes. I have therefore allocated more than £57 million to address priority building condition needs within the sixth-form college sector.

Even where funding is tight, it is essential that buildings and equipment are properly maintained to ensure that health and safety standards are met, and to prevent a backlog of decay building up which is very expensive to address. I am therefore also pleased to announce that in 2011-12 all sixth-form colleges will become eligible for Devolved Formula Capital. The average allocation to a sixth-form college will be in the region of £40,000. This funding is primarily for planned maintenance and is in addition to the £57m for building condition needs. 

This Government is committed to ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to continue in education and training after the age of 16. I therefore want to ensure that funding is available to meet the need for additional places where there are demographic pressures in schools, academies and sixth-form colleges. £30 million will be made available in the coming financial year for basic need funding for 16-19 student places in these institutions.