Funding guidance for young people: sub-contracting controls

ESFA today (29 June) updated the sub-contracting controls guide for 2017 to 2018 and includes the 2 significant new restrictions first introduced in 2016 to 2017. The first applies to maintained schools and academies and the second applies to colleges sub-contracting provision wholly or substantially to a special school for provision for 19 to 25 HNS. Any institutions with sub-contracted provision are advised to ensure that they review the guidance and take the required actions.

Third party arrangements, often referred to as either sub-contracted or franchised provision, have created substantial financial and reputation issues for institutions in the past.

Problems have been particularly significant where the sub-contracted service has taken place at a distance from the directly funded institution, in a different part of the country.

Directly funded institutions include all institutions that are either directly funded by the ESFA or are directly funded by local authorities using ESFA funding that includes all maintained schools, academies, free schools, sixth-form and FE colleges and independent institutions.