Purpose

The report details the background to the fees
and charging policy, the supporting policy document demonstrating
our statutory responsibility to provide a published policy that
offers transparency on areas of provision that we make charge
for.

Decision

That the fee for the Tailored (community)
learning be increased from £5.10 (2023/4) per hour to
£5.60 per hour (2024/5) and £2.35 (£2.20 22/23)
for fee remitted learner, this will be applied through the same
funding entitlement and fee remission rules as Accredited
Learning.

To approve publication of the fees and charging and associated
pound-plus policies.

Reasons for the decision

Fee levels are reviewed annually in line with
the Council’s Fees and Charges Strategy.

All the funding received for the Adult Learning and Skills Service
is allocated by central Government via the Education and Skills
Funding Agency (ESFA) to fund and support learning for adults aged
19+. All costs associated with the delivery of learning (including
all staffing costs) are covered by the ring fenced external
budgets.

The Service offers a small amount but growing provision through the
Tailored Learning funding to enable learners to join learning
activities for their own enjoyment and to learn, socialise with
others or improve skills. This is mainly offered through the Arts
and Crafts programmes but there are other offers in the
curriculum.

The Finance team have provided information on the scale of
inflation applicable to the service
and their estimate is that the composite rate of inflation between
23-24 and 24-25 around
6.0%.