Uncertainty about 16 to 18 education market savings

Responsibility is divided up at a number of levels:

• Nationally - overall responsibility of the market resides with the Department for Education (DfE).
• Fiscally - the Young People’s Learning Agency funds education providers whilst monitoring their performance.
• Locally - local authorities are expected to secure provision, though their powers are limited and therefore can have little impact on the providers.
• Ages 19 and over - the Skills Funding Agency oversees services for students over the age of 19 with lead responsibility for further education colleges.

With such a fragmented system, many colleges report to two Departments and two funding agencies.

The Government encourages choice and quality through a market of providers - they believe young people should have the choice of where to study, subject to entry criteria, with funding following the student.

The DfE cited reductions in funding per student as an incentive to increase education provider efficiency, but there is a risk of providers simply spending up to this unit price.

The Committee of Public Accounts took evidence from the leaders of three highly performing institutions and concluded that reliable comparative information and benchmarks are crucial in enabling them to improve efficiency.

Though the number of 16- and 17-year-olds participating in education and training has increased in recent years, further increases are required legislatively by 2015.

The DfE must assess the impact of recent changes to policy on its plans for everyone up to the age of 18 to participate in education and training by 2015.

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