Adult Skills Fund Cuts: Wrong-headed, counterproductive and the polar opposite of what’s needed

From Paul Sceeny, Co-chair and trustee of the membership body for ESOL teachers -the National Association of Teaching English and Community Languages to Adults (NATECLA)

Like many who work within the arena of adult education, I was shocked and horrified when news started to leak out about the UK Government planning to cut the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) in England by up to 3% in 2025-26.

That shock was compounded by confusion, as initially only Combined Authorities with devolved responsibility for the ASF had been told about the cut. Yet my shock at this announcement being slipped out on a Friday afternoon quickly turned to consternation that a government so keen on talking about the importance of growth, skills and productivity would consider taking even more away from adult and community education. It also seemed out of step with the government’s recent pronouncements about countering the dangers of populism and disinformation – something many adult education practitioners and providers have a proud history helping to tackle.

This latest cut comes on the heels of a decade and a half of the sector being decimated by budget freezes and cuts. At a time when demand for English language learning has never been greater, adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision has borne the brunt of these cuts with enrolment numbers falling by more than a third in the years since 2010.

A number of voices within the sector, most notably the Association of Colleges (AoC) and HOLEX, have provided robust responses that emphasise both the social and economic impact of these cuts. They are right to do so, as are the employers in key sectors of the economy calling for growth in adult education.

NATECLA is of course particularly concerned about the implications for ESOL provision. The 2016 Casey Review highlighted the vital role of ESOL in promoting social integration, with language proficiency enhancing employability, community cohesion and cultural engagement. Enabling people to learn and improve their English doesn’t just help get them into jobs or into further study; it empowers parents to engage with their child’s school; it improves their wellbeing by making it easier for them to access health care. It’s not only transformative for individuals, the whole of society and the economy benefits.

The latest 2021 census data found that around 1 million adults in England could not speak English well or at all, an increase of more than 20% on the equivalent figure from 2011. Nearly two thirds of these census respondents indicated they had been resident in the UK for at least five years, so this isn’t just about supporting recent arrivals.

Another notable statistic from the 2021 census is unemployment rate for adults without English as a main language: almost 50% higher than the general population, and almost double for those who do not speak English well or at all. Yet of the recent arrivals to the UK, around 48% are educated at tertiary level, compared to 39% of UK-born citizens.

However, this growth in demand for ESOL during the 2010s coincided with a real terms drop of 56% in funding for ESOL from the Adult Education Budget. It also coincided with the dismantling of many of the ESOL teacher education programmes and professional development that had been a hallmark of the Skills for Life strategy during the 2000s. Neither the main suite of regulated ESOL qualifications nor the Adult ESOL Core Curriculum have been substantially reviewed in over 20 years, and both are now showing their age. The ESOL Skills for Life qualifications have also been consistently less well regarded by policymakers than literacy qualifications intended for main language English speakers such as Functional Skills English, hence the perverse incentives for many ESOL learners to be enrolled to work towards Functional Skills qualifications.

Cutting adult education in general, and ESOL in particular, is frankly the polar opposite of what’s needed if the government is serious about wanting to widen opportunity and drive growth. Notwithstanding the difficult fiscal situation the government faces, this is an area where investment is key to national renewal.