Colleges face a loss of funding of more than £31 million as a result of Brexit, according to a Tes analysis of new government figures.
Data in the recently released college accounts for 2016-17 reveals that colleges received £9,667,026 in “direct European funds” and £31,525,730 in “SFA EU co-financed income”.
Dependence on EU funding
The figures show that more than one in four colleges have some level of dependency on European funding. Several colleges are particularly exposed on this measure and could be forced to cut provision if alternative funding cannot be found for EU-funded programmes - much of which is through the European Social Fund (ESF).
Calderdale College is the most reliant on European funding, which accounts for 19.5 per cent of its overall income. It is followed by New College Durham, at 12.5 per cent; Gateshead College at 9 per cent; and Preston’s College at 8.6 per cent.
Calls for action
The government is under mounting pressure to ensure that EU-funded programmes continue, through a new shared prosperity fund being set up to deal with the economic impact of Brexit. However, full details of the fund - announced by the government last June - have yet to emerge.
Stephen Evans, chief executive, Learning and Work Institute, said: “It’s important the government consult widely on how this new Fund will work: we have a chance to design a better approach that minimises bureaucracy and gets funding where it’s needed. This needs to be done quickly so the new Fund is ready to get up and running when ESF finishes”.
Julian Gravatt, deputy chief executive, Association of Colleges, commented: “Colleges have used the European Social Fund over the last two decades to help retrain and improve the skills of hundreds of thousands of people”.
He added: “The government’s transition deal implies that ESF will continue until 2020 but it is really important that the Shared Prosperity Fund that replaces it includes the same level of funds, has a proper focus on skills and is also targeted on areas where economic activity is lower and unemployment higher”.
EU-funded programmes at risk
The ESF has enabled New College Durham, which received more than £4m in 2016-17, to “work with people and communities which would otherwise find it difficult to access education and training” according to John Widdowson, principal and chief executive.
He said: “We have been able to respond to the re-training needs of people made redundant or needing to update their skills to gain employment. The uncertainties surrounding the future of the ESF, or a post-Brexit equivalent, make planning difficult if not impossible”.
Mr Widdowson added: “The college has financial contingency plans in place to deal with various scenarios, including delays in accessing new equivalent sources of funding, identifying other income sources and as a last resort introducing more cost efficiency measures and ultimately withdrawing of provision should that replacement funding not be available”.
A spokesperson for Gateshead College, which received £3.6m of EU funding in 2016-17, said: “The sustainability of our college is not dependant on this funding. We are very aware of the potential impact of Brexit and our very robust three-year financial plan takes account of this, ensuring that our financial position remains strong with or without the income currently received via ESF and that we can continue to meet the skills needs in our region”.
Preston’s College, in Lancashire, received more than £2m in European funding. A spokesperson for the college said it “is working hard to ensure that deliverables will continue to be met on projects that run beyond Brexit and any potential transfer to the proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund is made as seamlessly as possible”.
A Government spokesperson said: “Colleges receive funding from a number of sources, of which a small proportion is EU funding. Negotiations with the EU and the future possible partnership are ongoing and will cover a number of sectors”.
