AoC responds to the closure of the ESFA

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: “The work of the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is often under-estimated and taken for granted; on the whole payments to colleges go very smoothly and this is testament to the hard work the ESFA staff do day in, day out. I’m sure that will continue after this structural change.

“I am broadly supportive of this decision by the Department for Education, and I hope that these changes bring efficiencies and can allow for a simpler funding system for colleges. As public sector institutions, colleges are forced to spend too much of their time dealing with multiple funding lines, rules and regulations which get in the way of effective learning and skills. Strong work has already begun to simplify this system, and that must continue through these changes.”