The Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Overview and Scrutiny Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday 5 November 2025. The agenda includes discussion of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Transport Plan, local transport funding, the GLCCA Corporate Plan, and devolution of the Adult Skills Fund. The committee will also consider its work programme.

Devolution of the Adult Skills Fund

The committee will be presented with a report about the devolution of the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) for consideration before it goes to the GLCCA on 10 December 2025. The report pack includes a draft of the ASF Strategic Skills Plan¹ and proposed changes to funding rules and the performance framework. The ASF is used to provide adults aged 19 and over with skills to help them find employment, progress in their jobs, or pursue further learning. The report states that the ASF supported approximately 14,657 learners in Greater Lincolnshire during the 2023/24 academic year.

The report states that a ministerial decision is expected this month about Greater Lincolnshire's readiness to receive the legal responsibilities that go with this fund.

The report also sets out the proposed timeline:

• October 2025: Ministerial decision on readiness.
• November/December 2025: Legislative proposal to the DfE.
• November/December 2025: Submission of final plans and documents to the DfE.
• January/February 2026: Notification of funding allocation for year 1.
• May 2026: Legislation passed into law.
• June 2026: First funding allocation paid to the Authority.
• 31 July 2026: Last day of skills delivery administered by the DfE.
• 1 August 2026: First day of delivery with new funding rules set out by the Authority.

The report states the GLCCA's ambition is:

To provide Greater Lincolnshire residents with learning opportunities that improve their personal, and local economic prosperity.

The report lists the GLCCA's proposed ASF priorities:

• A programme of high-quality provision for Greater Lincolnshire adults that is accessible, aligned to local business need, well-promoted, and achieves good value for money by removing unnecessary duplication.
• Providing adults with the confidence and support to participate in learning and progress to higher levels.
• Funding qualifications that are business-led and contribute to the long-term prosperity of Greater Lincolnshire, creating a locally skilled workforce.
• Increasing the capacity of the local provider base, so that Greater Lincolnshire's training infrastructure can be flexible and responsive to future local needs.

The report also outlines some draft policy changes in year 1, including:

• Setting a minimum contract value of £150,000 and a maximum of £1 million for non-grant funded providers.
• Creating a new support fund to help care leavers access learning, providing up to £1,500 to help with learning costs.
• Changing the eligibility of the Level 3 Award in Education and Training so that it can be fully funded regardless of the learner's salary.
• Funding Greater Lincolnshire residents only, not employees who work but do not live in Greater Lincolnshire.
• Funding providers to support unemployed residents to obtain their first Green CSCS card².
• Changing resident eligibility back to the national rules that were in place in 2024/25, meaning learners must be ordinarily resident for 3 years.
• Creating a more inclusive learning environment by meeting the needs of non-English speaking residents through other provision, and not specific ESOL courses³.
• Introducing a 25% cap on the amount a grant funded provider can automatically subcontract without seeking permission.
• Organisations that win awards for delivery will not be permitted to subcontract.
• Increases in funding to providers will be managed through a grant or contract variation process.
• Collecting evidence in Year 1 to understand the impact and cost of self directed learning. ### GLCCA Draft Corporate Plan The committee will consider a report on the emerging GLCCA Corporate Plan, referred to as The Greater Lincolnshire Plan , before it is considered by the GLCCA on 10 December 2025. The plan will provide the overarching strategic direction for the authority, describing how the authority will work and the high-level priorities it will focus on.

The report states that the draft plan has been developed using extensive consultation with members, constituent and non-constituent authorities.

The report also states that the Greater Lincolnshire Plan will be a public-facing document, designed to be read and understood by residents, businesses and all key stakeholders.

The report lists other plans that will sit underneath the Greater Lincolnshire Plan:

• The Greater Lincolnshire Local Growth Plan.
• The Greater Lincolnshire Spatial Development Strategy.
• The Greater Lincolnshire Transport Plan.
• The Greater Lincolnshire Employment and Skills Strategy.
• The Greater Lincolnshire Business and Infrastructure Strategy.

Greater Lincolnshire Local Transport Plan

The committee will consider an update on the development of the Greater Lincolnshire Local Transport Plan, which is due for consideration at the Transport Board on 12 November 2025.

The report states that as part of becoming the Local Transport Authority, responsibility for an area-wide Local Transport Plan (LTP) will be conferred on the Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority (GLCCA) and exercised by the Mayor.

The report also sets out a five-stage programme for developing a full LTP:

• Stage 1: Review of previous strategies, project governance and delivery arrangements, LTP scoping and approval to start.
• Stage 2: LTP Baselining.
• Stage 3: Develop vision and objectives.
• Stage 4: Strategy development, development delivery plan and funding strategy.
• Stage 5: Final LTP and political sign off.

The report notes that some of the work within the programme has already commenced in line with the requirements of the devolution deal.

The report also sets out the forward plan for the Local Transport Plan:

• 2025/26 Quarter 4: Share results of stakeholder engagement and work on scenario planning.
• 2026/27 Quarter 1: Share draft vision, objectives, policies, and delivery programme.
• 2026/27 Quarter 2: Share programme for the formal statutory consultation period.
• 2026/27 Quarter 3: Share results of formal consultation and any resulting amendments to the LTP as well as outcomes of Equality Impact Assessment and Strategic Environmental Assessment.
• 2026/27 Quarter 4: Formal adoption of the final LTP.

Local Transport Funding

The committee will consider a report on Local Transport Funding, which is due for consideration at the Transport Board on 12 November 2025.

The report recommends that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee reviews and comments on the proposed Local Transport Funding allocations for 2025/26, and determines whether to support the recommendations that are intended to be put before the Transport Board on 12 November 2025:

• Approval of the 2025/2026 allocation of Local Transport Resource Funding to the Authority and the Constituent Authorities.
• Approval of the approach and principles for the allocation of Local Transport Funding for capital and resource in 2026/27.

The report notes that the Department for Transport is providing funding to local transport authorities under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, including Local Transport Resource funding, as well as the Local Transport Grant (capital funding from the Integrated Transport Block and the new Local Transport Grant).

The report states that it was agreed at the Transport Board on 4 June 2025, that the following funds would be passported to the constituent authorities for financial year 2025/2026 and proposals would be developed for future years:

The report also sets out the Local Transport Resource Funding confirmed by the Department for Transport (DfT) for the current year 2025/26:

The report states that the Authority worked with the constituent authorities to develop a programme of proposed expenditure for the Authority in 2025/26, and the proposal is that the Authority will retain approximately £423,120 of this funding to progress the development of the Local Transport Plan, transition, preparation, development of the national mayoral group on rural transport and an intra authority legal agreement during 2025/26. The balance will be passported across to the constituent authorities using a formula developed by the DfT.

The report also sets out proposed principles for the allocation of Local Transport Resource Funding in 2026/27, and for the allocation of the Local Transport Fund in 2026/27.

Greater Lincolnshire Combined County Authority Work Programme

The committee will consider and comment on the content of its work programme to ensure that its scrutiny activity is focused where it can be of greatest benefit.

The report includes the committee's items for this meeting, as well as planned items for future meetings.

Planned items include:

• 28 January 2026: GLCCA Budget Setting and Treasury Management Policy.
• 15 April 2026: Item TBD.
• 10 June 2026: Item TBD.

The report also includes the GLCCA Forward Plan of Key and Non-Key Decisions from 1 October 2025⁴.