Gillian Keegan – 2021 Statement on the Further Education Capital Transformation Fund

The statement made by Gillian Keegan, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education, in the House of Commons on 13 April 2021.

The FE capital transformation programme delivers the Government’s £1.5 billion commitment to upgrade the FE college and designated institutions’ estate in England. It builds on the £200 million further education capital allocation paid in September 2020 to support FE college and designated institutions to undertake immediate remedial works and provide a boost to the economy and the education system.

There are two elements to the FE capital transformation programme. The first element was announced on 21 January 2021, when we launched the open bidding fund to which all FE colleges and designated institutions can bid for larger projects to tackle their condition need and upgrade their estate. We are now announcing the second element today: we will be working in partnership with 16 colleges with some of the highest condition need in the country. High quality buildings and facilities will aid colleges in supporting their students to gain the skills they need to progress and help the economy to grow. The 16 college sites, which are spread across England, and with which we are working to develop plans are:

Beacon Centre, Blackburn College;

Lansdowne Site, Bournemouth and Poole College;

Brooksby Melton College, SMB Group;

Ashington Campus, Education Partnership North East (Northumberland College);

St Austell Campus, Cornwall College;

Houghall Campus, East Durham College;

Rochdale site, Hopwood Hall College;

Isle of Wight College;

Great Yarmouth Campus, East Coast College;

Stafford site, Newcastle and Stafford College Group;

North Lindsey College, DN College Group;

Merrist Wood College, Activate Learning;

Strode College;

Parsons Walk, Wigan and Leigh College;

Yeovil College;

Stanmore College.

The FE capital transformation programme means that colleges will be able to make strategic investment decisions which will lead to a transformation of the FE college estate, providing excellent places to learn.

This investment should be seen in the wider context of our reforms to further education. The White Paper “Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth” sets out our vision of enabling everyone to get the high-quality skills employers need in a way that suits them. The reforms set out plans to transform technical education, boost UK productivity, build back better from the coronavirus pandemic, and create a more prosperous country for all. This is an exciting moment for technical education and training and an opportunity for real change.