Introduction and purpose of this document

The purpose of the Adult Skills Fund (ASF) is to support adult learners in the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (DTCCA) area to gain skills which will lead them to meaningful, sustained, and relevant employment, or enable them to progress to further learning which will deliver that outcome.

It places a strong priority on supporting young people who are aged 19+ and not in education, employment or training (NEET). This includes those at risk of becoming NEET, by equipping them with the skills they need to progress into further learning or sustainable employment.

Within ASF, further provision for tailored learning is available that supports wider outcomes such as to improve health and wellbeing, equip parents or carers to support their child’s learning, and develop stronger communities.

Responsibility for adult skills policy transferred from the Department for Education (DfE) to the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on 16 September 2025.

As the strategic authority responsible for ASF provision in Devon and Torbay, the DTCCA will use the Adult Skills Fund to support the priorities set out in the DTCCA Skills and Future Workforce Plan, the Greater Devon Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), and relevant local and national economic strategies. Providers are expected to ensure that funded provision responds to identified skills shortages, supports inclusive growth, and contributes to improving employment, progression and productivity outcomes across the area.

This document sets out the DTCCA Adult Skills funding rules for the 2026 to 2027 funding year (1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027). The rules apply to all providers of education and training who receive Adult Skills funding from the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority, for Devon and Torbay residents.

The DTCCA recommends that Providers review the entire document.

The DTCCA have published the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula Guidance for 2026 to 2027. This contains the details of how Providers will earn their funding.

These rules do not apply to education and training services funded by the DfE/DWP, including the Growth and Skills Offer, Advanced Learner Loans (ALL), Skills Bootcamps, any ASF or FCFJ provision that started prior to 1 August 2026 and is funded by the DfE, non-residents of the DTCCA administrative area.

This document forms part of the terms and conditions of funding and you must read them in conjunction with your Grant Funding Agreement and/or Contract for Services. You must operate within the terms and conditions of the funding agreement, these rules, and the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) Specification. If you do not, you are in breach of your funding agreement with the DTCCA.

The DTCCA may make changes to these rules at any time, in line with DWP and DfE guidance. Any updated policies and rules will be published on the Adult Skills Fund pages of the DTCCA website.

The DTCCA reserves the right to make changes to these rules. This may be, for example, to ensure devolved ASF aligns to the priorities outlined in regional and national skills plans and continues to comply with any requirements set by government.

Understanding the terminology

The term ‘we’ or ‘us’ refers to The Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority (DTCCA).

When we refer to ‘you’ or ‘Providers’, this includes colleges, higher education institutions, training organisations, local authorities and employers who receive funding from us to deliver adult skills and training to DTCCA residents. We will use the generic term ‘you’ or ‘Provider’ unless the requirements only apply to a specific provider type.

We use the term ‘funding agreement’ to include: accountability agreement conditions of Grant Funding Agreement and Contract for Services.

When we refer to ‘Grant Providers’ this means the organisation that is responsible for ASF delivery as detailed in a Grant Funding Agreement.

When we refer to ‘Contract for Services Providers’ this means the organisation that is responsible for ASF delivery as detailed in a Contract for Services.

We use the terms ‘individual’ and ‘learner’ to cover those whose provision is funded by us.

We use the term ‘provision’ or ‘learning’ or ‘learning aims’ to refer to all adult learning that we fund, whether it is a regulated qualification or other learning that is not regulated.

If we refer to ‘qualifications’, they will be from the Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF) or an Access to Higher Education Diploma recognised and regulated by the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA).

If we refer to ‘learning aims’, we mean a single episode of learning which could be a regulated qualification, a component of a regulated qualification or non-regulated learning.

If we refer to ‘programmes’ we mean a coherent package of adult learning which may include regulated qualifications, components of regulated qualifications or non-regulated learning with clearly stated aims supporting agreed outcomes.

We may refer to this document as ‘funding rules’ or ‘the rules’.

Contacting us

You can contact us via email at SkillsFunding@devon.gov.uk.

Section 1: General funding requirements

Principles of funding

These funding rules apply to all learners residing in the DTCCA area starting new ASF learning aims on or after 1 August 2026 who meet the criteria as referenced in the Who we fund section below.

Funding must be earned in the way set out in the specific funding agreement, and funding rules related to that funding. You will not be paid for over-delivery from the under-delivery on your other allocations that include:

• ASF
• FCFJ
• The Growth and Skills Offer
• All bursary fund
• All loan facility
• Skills Bootcamps.

ASF received from other devolved budgets to combined authorities, including transferring between different authorities

The DTCCA ASF must only be utilised to support the delivery of Adult Education and Skills to DTCCA residents. It may not be used for any other purpose, including to subsidise the delivery of other programmes.

The DTCCA will not permit any subcontracted delivery under ASF contracts ensuring full accountability and transparency in the use of public funds.

Providers must deliver training through a face-to-face or blended approach with at least 50% of provision being face-to-face (measured through Guided Learning Hours). Guided Learning Hours must correspond with the course hours specified on the DfE approved Find a Learning Aim (FALA).

We will review and monitor the education and training you provide to confirm it is delivering outcomes as detailed and agreed by the DTCCA within your 2026/27 Delivery Plan.

We will also monitor your performance to ensure that funding received from the DTCCA is delivering high quality provision for adults in Devon and Torbay, and represents good value for money. Regular performance monitoring meetings between the Provider and the DTCCA will be completed throughout the funding agreement period. Further detail of these meetings and evaluation activities are included within the DTCCA ASF Performance Management Framework for 2026 to 2027

Failure to comply with funding rules could lead to action or intervention. We will review and monitor whether ASF provision you provide represents good value for money. If we consider that funding is significantly more than the cost of providing education and training, we may reduce your funding after consulting with you.

Please refer to the DTCCA ASF Performance Management Framework for 2026 to 2027 for further information.

Who we fund

Individuals with a residential postcode within the Devon and Torbay area, undertaking the DTCCA funded ASF starting on or after 1 August 2026. Postcodes that are eligible under the DTCCA administrative area can be found here, where labelled ‘DTCCA’ in the area postcode column.

Residency

You must check the eligibility of every learner, including their residency eligibility, at the start of each learning aim. DTCCA-funded ASF is only available to learners resident within the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority area. You must only claim funding for eligible learners. Refer to the glossary definition of ‘learner residency’ and the devolution postcode checker data set to confirm whether a learner is eligible for DTCCA funding.

Age

To be funded by us, on the first day of learning a learner must be aged 19 or older on 31 August 2026 within the funding year 2026 – 2027.

The age of the learner on 31 August in the funding year determines whether the learner is eligible for funding through the DTCCA’s Adult Skills Funding methodology (for individuals aged 19 and over), or the 16 to 19 year olds funding methodology (for individuals aged 16 to 19 and those aged 19 to 24 with an education and health care plan).

All individuals aged 19 or over on 31 August who are continuing a programme they began aged 16 to 18 (‘19+ continuers’) will be funded through the 16 to 19-year-olds funding guidance.

Duration

Learners will be eligible for funding for the whole of the learning aim or programme if they are eligible for funding at the start, even if the duration is for over one year. You must reassess the learner for any further learning they start.

Potential issues

If an individual starts a learning aim or programme and is not eligible for funding at the start, we will not fund their learning while they remain ineligible.

You must not fund a learner who is unable to complete a learning aim or programme of study in the time they have available.

Residency eligibility

Individuals will be eligible for ASF funding if they meet the criteria in the Who we fund section, the learning is taking place in England, and they are ordinarily resident in the UK, in the DTCCA administrative area, on the first day of learning.

Individuals who are not eligible for funding

You must not claim funding for individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria set out in the residency eligibility section. Examples of individuals who do not meet the eligibility criteria include those:

• who are not residents of the Devon and Torbay Combined County Authority administrative area
• who are here without authority or lawful status
• who are resident in the UK on a student or graduate visa
• who are in the UK on holiday, with or without a visa
• who are in the UK on a sponsorship visa, including skilled worker visas and seasonal worker visas
• whose biometric residence permit or residence permit imposes a study prohibition or restriction on the individual.

This list is not exhaustive.

Dependants of all individuals with sponsorship visa status, with the exception of seasonal workers, are eligible for ASF funding.

Learners with limited length visas

You must not fund learners who would not have enough time on their visa to complete their course and who do not intend to, or would not be eligible to, renew their visa. Where a course continues past a learner’s visa expiry date, you may at your discretion fund that learner only where there is documented evidence indicating that the learner intends to, and is likely to be eligible to, renew their visa.

Learners who have applied for an extension or variation of current immigration permission

Any person who has applied for an extension or variation of their current immigration permission in the UK is still treated as if they have that leave. This only applies if the application was made before their current permission expired. Their leave continues until the Home Office decides on their immigration application. Their leave will continue where they have appealed or sought an administrative review of their case within the time allowed to them for doing so.

Therefore, a person is considered to still have the immigration permission that they held when they made their application for an extension, administrative review or appeal, and their eligibility would be based on this status.

This is on the basis that the Provider confirmed at enrolment that the learner intended to and will be eligible to renew their visa.

EEA and Switzerland frontier workers

An EEA or Switzerland frontier worker is someone who is employed or self-employed in the UK who resides in the EEA or Switzerland and returns to that residence in the EEA or Switzerland at least once a week.

Unlike other categories, a frontier worker or their eligible family member does not have to be resident in the UK on the first day of learning in order to have an eligible residency status.

Asylum seekers

Asylum seekers are eligible to receive funding if they:

• have lived in the UK for 6 months or longer while their claim is being considered by the Home Office, and no decision on their claim has been made, or
• are receiving local authority support under section 23C or section 23CA of the Children Act 1989 or the Care Act 2014

An individual who has been refused asylum will be eligible if:

• they have appealed against a decision made by the UK government against granting refugee status and no decision has been made within 6 months of lodging the appeal, or
• they are granted support for themselves under section 4 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, or
• are receiving local authority support for themselves under section 23C or section 23CA of the Children Act 1989

No recourse to public funds conditions

The learner’s immigration permission in the UK may have a ‘no recourse to public funds’ condition. Public funds do not include education or education funding. Therefore, this does not affect a learner’s eligibility, which must be decided under the normal eligibility conditions.

Leaners in the armed forces

British armed forces personnel, Ministry of Defence personnel or civil and crown servants resident in Devon or Torbay, who meet the criteria in the Who we fund section, are eligible for DTCCA funded ASF where learning takes place in England.

Members of other nations’ armed forces stationed in England, and their family members, aged 19 and over, are eligible for DTCCA funded ASF, set out in the Who we fund section, if the armed forces individual is ordinarily resident in Devon or Torbay on the first day of learning. We will not fund family members that remain outside of England.

Fees and charging

You must not make compulsory charges relating to the direct costs of delivering a learning aim to learners we fully fund, including those with a legal entitlement to full funding for their learning. Direct costs include any essential activities or materials without which the learner could not complete and achieve their learning.

If a fully funded learner needs a disclosure and barring service (DBS) check to participate in learning, you cannot charge them for this. If the learning is associated with the learner’s employment, their employer is responsible for carrying out and paying for this check.

Qualifying days for funding

A learner must be in learning for a minimum number of days between their learning start date and learning planned end date before you can earn funding, including learning support. This is calculated from the ILR learning start date, as detailed in the table below. For further information, please refer to the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula for 2026 to 2027 available on the Adult Skills Fund pages of the DTCCA website.

Planned length of the learning aim	Qualifying period
168 days or more	42 days
14 to 167 days	14 days
Fewer than 14 days	1 day

Recognition of prior learning (RPL)

A learner could have prior learning or attainment that has been previously accredited by an awarding organisation or could be formally recognised and count towards achievement of a qualification. If this is the case, you must:

• reduce the funding amount claimed for the qualification aim by the percentage of learning the learner does not need
• follow the policies and procedures set by the awarding organisation regarding recognition of prior learning, including any restrictions concerning where RPL or prior attainment may not be applied
• ensure you have a robust internal RPL policy and appropriate resources to deliver RPL.

We would not expect RPL or prior attainment to be used against the whole qualification, this is exemption rather than RPL.

You must not use prior learning to reduce funding for:

• English and maths qualifications up to and including level 2
• essential digital skills qualifications (ESDQs) up to and including level 1

If a learner enrols on an advanced subsidiary (AS) level qualification followed by an A level, you must reduce the funding claimed for the A level to take account of the prior study of the AS level and record this in the ‘funding adjustment for prior learning’ field in the ILR. More information is available in the ILR technical documents, guidance and requirements.

Breaks in learning

You and the learner can agree to suspend learning while the learner takes a break from learning. This allows the learner to continue later with the same eligibility that applied when they first started their learning.

We will not fund a learner during a break in learning.

You must record the date a learner starts a break in learning and the date they restart their learning in the ILR. Further guidance on recording breaks can be found in the ILR technical documents, guidance and requirements.

You must have evidence the learner agrees to return and continue with the same learning aim, otherwise you must report the learner as withdrawn. When the learner returns to learning, you must re-plan and extend remaining delivery as required.

You must not use a break in learning for short-term absences, such as holidays or short-term illness.

What we will not fund

What we will not fund:

• Qualifications, units or learning aims that are not listed on FALA or on the DfE list of qualifications approved for funding.
• Provision to learners in custody – the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) funds prison education in England – you can use your DTCCA funded ASF to fund individuals released on temporary licence.
• End-point assessment outside of apprenticeship standards, which is subject to Ofqual external quality assurance and regulated as a qualification.
• Any part of a learner’s learning aim or programme that duplicates provision they have received from any other source.
• Training through DTCCA funded ASF, where a learner is undertaking an apprenticeship and where that training will:
  • offer career-related training that conflicts with the apprenticeship aims
  • be taking place during the apprentice’s working hours – where an apprentice has more than one job, working hours refers to the hours of the job the apprenticeship is linked to.
• Repetition of the same regulated qualification where the learner has previously achieved it – the exceptions are that it is for any GCSE where the learner has not achieved grade 4 (C) or higher, or for English and maths where the learner has been assessed as having an existing skill level lower than grade 4 (even if they have previously achieved a GCSE or equivalent qualification in English or maths).
• A learner to sit or resit a learning aim assessment or examination where no extra learning takes place.

• Where a learner is undertaking an apprenticeship and where that training will replicate vocational and other learning aims covered by the apprenticeship standard, including English and maths or approved English or maths qualifications which are required for an apprentice to complete their apprenticeship where an apprentice does not already hold a suitable equivalent qualification. The apprenticeship funding route is the primary funding mechanism, the exception is where the employer does not fund English and/or maths. The apprentice may exercise their legal entitlement in this situation, and they can be funded through ASF. Refer to the Apprenticeship Funding Rules for further guidance.

Evidence

You must hold evidence to assure us that you are using the DTCCA funded ASF appropriately. Most evidence will occur naturally from your normal business processes.

You must make sure enrolments for DTCCA funded ASF support your decision to claim funding and support the individual’s case for consideration as ordinarily resident in the DTCCA administrative area, or any exceptions set out in the Residency eligibility section.

In line with General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), you must record in the evidence pack what appropriate documentation you have seen, rather than take photocopies to prove eligibility.

Annex C contains the details on the evidence required.

Section 2: DTCCA funded ASF

Legal entitlements

The DTCCA funded ASF includes support for four legal entitlements to full funding for eligible adult learners.

These entitlements are set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills and Children Learning Act 2009, and enable eligible learners to be fully funded for the following qualifications:

• English and maths up to and including level 2 for individuals aged 19 and over who have not previously achieved a GCSE grade A* to C or grade 4 or higher, or have been assessed as having an existing skill level lower than grade 4 (even if they have previously achieved a GCSE or equivalent qualification in English or maths)
• first full qualification at level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23
• first full qualification at level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23
• Essential Digital Skills Qualifications (EDSQs) or Digital Functional Skills Qualifications (DFSQs), up to and including level 1, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have digital skills assessed at below level 1.

The legal entitlements for level 2 and level 3 follow the definition of fullness in the Full level 2 and Full level 3 sections respectively. A learner can only be fully funded for one vocational qualification from the entitlement qualifications list when exercising their legal entitlement. Appropriate information, advice and guidance should be given to a learner and the learner should be made aware of their entitlement rights and progression routes on completing an entitlement qualification.

Policy entitlements

Learners who meet the residency eligibility criteria in Section 1 and are below the earnings threshold criteria (including the unemployed) will also be fully funded for qualifications within policy entitlements that include:

• FCFJ
• level 2 local flexibility
• heavy goods vehicle (HGV)
• 19 to 24 work placements
• the sector-based work academy programme (SWAP)
• The King’s Trust
• English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) up to Level 2.

Tailored learning is available to funded Providers, where it is included within their Funding Agreement, enabling the delivery of non-regulated provision. For more information refer to the Tailored learning section.

Learning for level 2 and below (including the legal entitlements)

For learners aged 19 and over undertaking English, maths and digital, refer to the English, maths and digital for those aged 19 or older section.

Learning at level 2 and below (excluding English, maths and digital)

We will fully fund learners who are aged 19 to 23 and have not previously achieved a full level 2 if they choose a qualification from the level 2 legal entitlement list. You must not charge them any course fees.

Any other learners aged 19 and over wishing to undertake a qualification at level 2 or below (either from the legal entitlement list or local flexibility offer) will be fully funded if they meet the definition of being below the earnings threshold criteria (including the unemployed). If they do not meet the definition of being below the earnings threshold criteria (including the unemployed) they will be co-funded.

For the funding year 2026 to 2027, Providers can find the qualifications we have approved in the DfE list of qualifications approved for funding.

Learning at level 3 legal entitlement and the free courses for jobs

Learners aged 19 to 23 who have not previously achieved a full level 3 qualification must be fully funded, regardless of employment status, if they choose a qualification from the level 3 legal entitlement or FCFJ list. You must not charge them any course fees.

Learners aged 19 to 23 who undertake a qualification from the FCFJ list are funded through your FCFJ funding lines (ILR LDM code 378), and will include the relevant uplift.

For funding year 2026 to 2027, Providers can find the qualifications we have approved in the national DfE list of qualifications approved for funding.

Learners who meet the residency eligibility, have exhausted their first level 3 legal entitlement and do not meet the definition of being below the earnings threshold (including unemployed) have the option of funding their learning through an advanced learner loan.

Free courses for jobs offer

FCFJ is a targeted offer to support adults who meet the definition of being below the earnings threshold (including unemployed). From August 2026, the DWP expanded this offer from a targeted level 3 offer to include a number of level 2 engineering and manufacturing related qualifications. A list of all FCFJ qualifications is available via the national DfE list of qualifications approved for funding.

The offer includes:

• qualifications which will support the development of new skills for adult learners and improve the prospects of eligible adults in the labour market. Eligible adults can access fully-funded provision from the list of FCFJ qualifications available via the national DfE list of qualifications approved for funding
• an uplift which is payable at 2 different rates and follows the earnings methodology set out in the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula Guidance for 2026 to 2027- this uplift should be used to support delivery of the FCFJ offer
• eligible learners, irrespective of age or when they started their learning, are funded through your FCFJ funding line and will include the relevant uplift.

Only qualifications included in this offer will attract an uplift. There may be additions to the list to ensure it meets the needs of the economy. We encourage you to check availability regularly.

We will fully fund individuals who meet the residency eligibility as part of this offer where they:

• are aged 19 or above on 31 August 2026, enrol on the FCFJ qualifications approved for funding and meet the eligibility of being below the earnings threshold (including unemployed)
• are aged 19 to 23 on 31 August 2026, enrol on the FCFJ qualification approved for funding, have not achieved a full level 3 and earn above the earnings threshold criteria.

You must not claim for DTCCA funded ASF where learners are already being funded through an ALL, or a Skills Bootcamp (where applicable), for qualifications that are in the FCFJ offer. The criteria for ALL can be found in the Advanced learner loans funding and performance management rules.

• When recording FCFJ offer aims in the ILR, you must:
• Use LDM code 378 and FFI code 1 to claim for funding for 19 to 23 year old learners, who have not achieved a full level 3 and earn above the earnings threshold
• Use LDM code 378, FFI code 1, and LDM code 391 when recording learners who meet the earnings threshold criteria (including the unemployed), and have not achieved a full level 3
• record the employment status of learners accessing the offer in the ILR.

To determine qualifications that are eligible for FCFJ funding you must use learning aims that are marked with the following FCFJ Adult Skills Learning Aims Reference Service (LARS) category codes:

• category code 45: Free Courses for Jobs rate 1
• category code 46: Free Courses for Jobs rate 2
• category code 49: Free Courses for Jobs – short qualification.

English, maths and digital for those aged 19 and over

English and maths

We will fully fund eligible learners for the following qualifications:

• GCSE English and maths
• functional skills English and maths from entry to level 2
• stepping stone qualifications (including components, where applicable) in English and maths approved by DfE.

To be eligible for the legal entitlement the individual must meet the Residency eligibility in Section 1, and:

• be aged 19 or over, and
• have not previously attained a GCSE in English or maths at grade 4 or above (or a qualification which is at a comparable or higher level) – or have been assessed as having an existing skill level lower than grade 4 (even if they have previously achieved a GCSE or equivalent qualification in English and maths), as part of their legal entitlement.

If a learner wants to retake their GCSE English and maths qualification because they did not achieve a grade 4 (C) or higher, we will not fund the learner to only resit the exam.

You must not fund an apprentice for English and/or maths from DTCCA funded ASF.

An exception applies where an employer does not agree for an apprentice aged 19 or over at the start of their apprenticeship to study English and/or maths. In these circumstances, the apprentice may choose to exercise their statutory entitlement to study English and/or maths up to an approved Level 2.

Funding for this study may be accessed through the ASF. Refer to the Apprenticeship Funding Rules for further details.

• You must not enrol individuals on qualifications which are not necessary for progressing towards a GCSE or functional skills level 2.

Digital skills

You must not enrol individuals on qualifications which are not necessary for progressing towards a GCSE or functional skills level 2.

You must not enrol individuals on qualifications which are not necessary for progressing towards a GCSE or functional skills level 2.

We will fully fund eligible learners, including those who are employed, for the following qualifications:

• EDSQ up to and including level 1
• DFSQ up to and including level 1.

To be eligible for the legal entitlement the individual must meet the Residency eligibility in Section 1, and be:

• aged 19 or over, and
• assessed as having digital skills levels below level 1.

General funding principles for English, maths and digital entitlement

For those Providers who have a tailored learning allocation, we will fully fund non-regulated English, maths and digital for learners. This includes those learners assessed at pre-entry level with significant learning difficulties or disabilities as part of a personalised learning programme, where assessment has identified the learner cannot undertake the entitlements above through your funded tailored learning allocation.

You must:

• carry out a thorough initial assessment to determine an individual’s current level using current assessment tools based on:
• the national literacy and numeracy standards and core curriculums or DfE published English and maths functional skills subject content
• the national standards for essential digital skills or DfE published functional skills subject content
• carry out an appropriate diagnostic assessment to inform and structure a learner’s evidence pack to use as a basis for a programme of study
• enrol the learner on a level above that at which they are assessed or of which they have prior attainment, and be able to provide evidence of this
• deliver ongoing assessment to support learning
• record the evidence of all assessment outcomes in the evidence pack.

The assessments must place a learner’s current skills levels within the level descriptors used for the RQF.

The DTCCA contribution tables

Tables 1 and 2 show the level of contribution for DTCCA funded ASF.

Table 1: 19 to 23-year-olds

Provision	Notes	Funding
English and Maths up to and including level 2	Must be delivered as part of the legal entitlement	Fully funded
Essential digital skills qualification up to and including level 1	Must be delivered as part of the digital legal entitlement qualifications	Fully funded
First full level 2 legal entitlement (excluding English and maths)	First full level 2 must be delivered as part of the legal entitlement qualifications	Fully funded
Learning aims up to and including level 2 (local flexibility offer)	For those who meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Fully funded
Learning aims up to and including level 2 (local flexibility offer)	For those who do not meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Co-funded
Full level 3 legal entitlement	Full level 3 must be delivered as part of the legal entitlement qualifications	Fully funded via ASF
FCFJ level 2 construction/ manufacturing/ engineering and level 3	For those who meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria or are above the earnings threshold, have not achieved a full level 2	Fully funded via ASF
FCFJ level 2 construction/ manufacturing/ engineering and level 3	Learners above the earnings threshold and have achieved a full level 3	Advanced learner loans
ESOL learning up to and including level 2	For those who meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Fully funded
ESOL learning up to and including level 2	For those who do not meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Co-funded

Table 2: 24+

Provision	Notes	Funding
English and Maths up to and including level 2	Must be delivered as part of the legal entitlement	Fully funded
Essential digital skills qualification up to and including level 1	Must be delivered as part of the digital legal entitlement qualifications	Fully funded
Level 2 and learning up to a level 2 (local flexibility and access to level 2 legal entitlement qualifications as a policy addition)	For those who meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Fully funded
Level 2 and learning up to a level 2 (local flexibility and access to level 2 legal entitlement qualifications as a policy addition)	For those who do not meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Co-funded
FCFJ level 2 construction/ manufacturing/ engineering and level 3	For those who meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Fully funded
FCFJ level 2 construction/ manufacturing/ engineering and level 3	For those who do not meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Advanced learner loans
ESOL learning up to and including level 2	For those who meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Fully funded
ESOL learning up to and including level 2	For those who do not meet the earnings threshold or unemployed criteria	Co-funded

External links:

16 to 19 Education and Skills Funding

Advanced Learner Loans

Unemployed

The eligibility criteria for ASF funding includes having earnings below the threshold of £26,800. This includes individuals with no earnings, such as those who are unemployed or economically inactive.

In order to claim full funding for learners who are unemployed and not in receipt of benefits, you must indicate that they earn below the earnings threshold by using LDM code 391 and FFI code 1 in the ILR.

If the learner is unemployed and is claiming benefits you must complete the Benefit Status Indicator (BSI) in the ILR attribute field to identify the learner is in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) (BSI 1), UC (BSI 4) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) (all categories) (BSI 5).

Earning threshold

You may fully fund learners who are unemployed, employed, or self-employed, up to and including level 2 and the level 3 offers, if they earn below £26,800 annual gross salary. The policy entitlement includes learners who are employed or self-employed.

You must have seen evidence of the learner’s gross annual wages in these circumstances. This could be a wage slip or a Universal Credit (UC) statement within 3 months of the learner’s learning start date, or a current employment contract which states gross monthly or annual wages. This list is not exhaustive, but you must evidence your decision to award full funding to an individual who would normally be eligible for co-funding.

To claim full funding for learners who earn below the earnings threshold, you must use LDM code 391 and FFI code 1 in the ILR.

Heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver training

HGV driver training flexibilities have been developed to support an increase in HGV driver training.

The 2026 to 2027 offer:

• includes level 2 qualifications which will prepare learners for HGV licence acquisition of all vehicles up to category C and E (articulated)
• includes any new additional qualifications that are approved for training in this sector throughout academic year 2026 to 2027
• allows all eligible learners, fully funded and co-funded, to be reimbursed for the cost of HGV licences and the medical.

Learners must be eligible under the criteria for DTCCA funded ASF eligibility and enrolled on one of the targeted approved for funding level 2 qualifications listed in FALA.

For learners, we will fund the first attempt only for:

the HGV licence as part of a programme of training, andthe medical, at a cost of £61 per learnera licence to upgrade from category C to category C+E.

You must use learning aims in the ILR that are marked with:

• category code 50: HGV Emergency Response, to identify an approved qualification

• category code 51: HGV Medical for the additional learning aim to represent the HGV medical

category code 52: HGV Licence, for the additional learning aims to represent parts of the Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) tests required to attain the licence, when learners undertake these elements.

You must:

• record an outcome of ‘Achieved’ in the ILR where you have a recorded learning aims for the HGV licence and medical aim, to generate reimbursement funding for these activities

• have criteria for how you will administer and distribute your funds

retain evidence in the learner file confirming that you have verified the medical test and licence documentation, and evidence from your accounts of the payment made to the learner and learner’s receipt of the funds.

Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)

Providers can claim the cost of a CSCS card to support learner to start work in the construction industry.

Learners must be eligible under the criteria for DTCCA funded ASF and be enrolled on a level 2 or 3 qualification within sector subject area (SSA) 05.2 Building and construction listed in FALA.

For learners, we will fund the cost of their card application fee and the health and safety test.

Some qualifications have an associated alliance scheme and these can also be funded.

CSCS cards will be recorded against category code 76 in the ILR. Refer to LARS category codes for further details.

Work placement for 19 to 24-year-olds

We will fully fund learners for a work placement who meet the criteria in the Who we fund section where they:

• are aged 19 to 24 on 31 August within the funding year 2026 to 2027
• enrol on one or more learning aims from the ASF core offer, or a vocational qualification listed on FALA, alongside a work placement learning aim.

A learner’s work placement must take place with an employer and allow the learner to develop new workplace knowledge, skills and behaviours. In total, the work placement element must be at least 70 hours and a maximum of 240 hours, and it must not be virtual or be simulated learning in an artificial environment.

A learner can have separate work placements in different organisations. These must last at least 2 weeks with each employer, and at least 70 hours in total with each placement supporting progression linked to their learning plan.

For learners on JSA or UC, work placements can be between 70 to 240 hours.

A learner who is undertaking work experience as part of a SWAP funded through DWP must not be funded through the 19 to 24 work placement.

For eligible learners aged 19 to 24 the work placement will be funded through the DTCCA funded ASF funding methodology, with further information available in the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula for 2026 to 2027

You must use learning aims that are marked with Adult Skills Fund – Work Placement, refer to the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula for 2026 to 2027 for more information.

The employer must offer at the end of each work placement (which you must evidence) either:

• a formal interview for a job or apprenticeship vacancy, plus feedback
• an exit interview, written feedback and evidence of the learner’s time and activities during the work placement.

If you are claiming Industry Placement funding for a learner, then you must not also claim adult skills funding.

Sector-based work academy programme (SWAP)

The Sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) is designed to help Job Centre Plus claimants build confidence to improve their job prospects and enhance their CV, whilst helping employers in sectors with current local vacancies to fill them. SWAP can last up to 6 weeks and has 3 main components:

• pre-employment training
• work experience placement
• a guaranteed job interview.

Participants remain on benefits throughout their placement.

Only the pre-employment training element in England can be funded through ASF local flexibility and normally lasts 2 to 3 weeks. Jobcentre Plus fund the other components and will pay any travel and childcare costs whilst claimants are on the work experience placement.

Further education (FE) providers are part of the SWAP local design process and are informed when to expect referrals and how many.

You must keep a copy of the claimant’s SWAP referral notification issued by Jobcentre Plus in the evidence pack setting out start date and times for their ASF funded pre-employment training.

To claim full funding for claimants referred to SWAP pre-employment training you must use LDM code 375 and complete the ILR Benefit Status Indicator (BSI) to identify the claimant is in receipt of JSA (BSI 1), UC (BSI 4) or ESA (all categories) (BSI 5).

King’s Trust Team Programme

The King’s Trust Team Programme is a 12-week course designed to improve confidence, motivation and skills for eligible 16 to 25-year-olds. Each team recruits a mix of 16 to 25-year-olds of different abilities and backgrounds, including employees sponsored by their employer.

In order to deliver the team programme, you must get approval from The King’s Trust.

For eligible learners aged 19 to 25, we fund the team programme through the DTCCA funding methodology – refer to the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula Guidance for 2026 to 2027 for more information.

English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL)

ESOL qualifications are part of the ASF learning at level 2 and below offer, please refer to this section for eligibility criteria.

Providers offering ESOL qualifications may need to deliver additional learning to individual learners that incurs additional cost above the qualification rate. You can access information on how to do this in the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula for 2026 to 2027.

Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

We will fund learners with learning difficulties or disabilities as set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills, and Children and Learning Act 2009.

We have the responsibility for securing the provision of reasonable facilities for education and training suitable to the requirements of persons who are 19 and over, set out in the Who we fund section. This includes learners with an identified learning difficulty or disability who have previously had an education, health and care (EHC) plan and have reached the age of 25.

The 16 to 19 funding methodology will apply to learners aged 19 to 24, who have an EHC plan and require provision and support costs.

Learners with an education, health, and care (EHC) plan

To access provision and support costs you must inform us before the start of funding year 2026 to 2027 where a learner:

• has reached the age of 25 and has not completed their programme of learning as set out in their EHC plan by the end of the previous funding year
• will reach the age of 25 in the funding year, where their EHC plan is not extended by their local authority to allow them to complete their programme of learning.

The learner must:

• have an EHC plan that confirms their needs could only be met by the training organisation they are, or were, attending
• continue to make progress on the programme of learning as set out in their EHC plan.

If a learner has an EHC plan, you must report this in the ‘Learner funding and monitoring’ fields in the ILR.

We will not fund learners whose EHC plan is extended by the Local Authority beyond their 25th birthday. Their Local Authority must continue to provide top-up funding and contract directly with you.

Tailored Learning

Tailored learning is primarily non-qualification based provision that is tailored to the skills needs of the learners, employers and local communities. Tailored learning is non-formula funded which gives it the flexibility to support learners furthest from the workplace and to meet changing employer needs. The primary purpose of tailored learning is to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning, in line with the overall purpose of the ASF. It will, however, also support wider outcomes including improvements to health and wellbeing, and equipping parents and carers to support their child’s learning.

Tailored learning includes employer-facing provision that has been designed in collaboration with employers and others, that is not qualification based.

We would expect Providers to encourage and support all learners to progress on to new or more stretching provision to help them into more formal learning or employment. We would not expect to see multiple enrolments on similar level courses, or a repeat of similar learning aims where this does not benefit the learner’s development.

DTCCA expects Tailored Learning provision to deliver clear and demonstrable outcomes for learners. While participation and learner reach are important, providers must be able to evidence how provision supports learners to progress towards and into positive outcomes, including further learning, employment, volunteering, community participation, improved wellbeing, increased confidence, or the development of essential skills. Providers should collect and retain evidence of learner progression and impact appropriate to the aims of the provision. As part of its performance management and quality assurance arrangements, DTCCA may request evidence of learner outcomes, progression and impact to demonstrate that public funds are being used effectively and represent value for money.

Providers with a tailored learning allocation have the freedom and flexibility within these parameters to determine how they use their tailored learning allocation, to meet the needs of their local community and employers. This can include outreach activities to engage learners and drive participation in adult learning.

To deliver tailored learning, you must:

• be in receipt of funding from the DTCCA to deliver Tailored Learning under the ASF provision
• follow DTCCA funded, ASF tailored learning funding methodology and submit ILR data under funding model 11 for the delivery and support
• complete the funding claim, how to submit a funding claim for 2025 to 2026. 

You must not use tailored learning funding for learning that is:

• eligible for funding through an ALL
• primarily or solely for leisure purposes.

For more information refer to learner outcomes that are reported in the ILR Specification. Tailored learning funding will be reconciled against the tailored learning allocation line at the end of the funding year. You must repay funding that has not been used for tailored learning or where its use cannot be evidenced. You must record the costs of tailored learning for audit purposes.

You must include the use of your tailored learning funding to cover learning and learner support costs up to the value of your tailored learning allocation. If you do, you must:

• claim for learning and learner costs through the final funding claim and follow the policy in line with the support funding section
• record these costs in the learner’s evidence pack and maintain evidence that support the costs for audit purposes.

We will monitor tailored learning provision through ILR data, funding claims, performance reviews and other assurance activity. Providers may be required to provide evidence of learner outcomes, progression and impact, including destination information where available. 

You have the flexibility to use your tailored learning funding in line with the ASF formula funded methodology (funding model 38 in the ILR), to meet local demand. This flexibility works one way, you cannot use your ASF formula funded allocation to fund additional tailored learning and we will not fund above value in your funding agreement. The maximum value of your tailored learning will be outlined within your funding agreement and we will not fund above this value.

You can use this amount of tailored learning funding (stated in your funding agreement) to deliver regulated provision to meet local demand. If you do deliver regulated learning, you must enrol learners following DTCCA funded ASF eligibility requirements set out in the DTCCA contribution tables.

You can support learners aged under 19 if they meet both of the following, they are:

• a parent, carer or guardian attending provision delivered through family learning
• funded through tailored learning using funding model 11 in the funding model field in the ILR (refer to ILR guidance for more information).

Tailored learning courses are delivered and reported on the ILR under the following purpose types (refer to the  2026 to 2027 ILR specification for further details):

• engaging or building confidence
• preparation for further learning
• preparation for employment
• improving essential skills (English, ESOL, maths, digital)
• equipping parents and carers to support children’s learning
• health and well-being
• developing stronger communities.

Learner outcomes of tailored learning courses are reported on the ILR. Refer to the 2026 to 2027 ILR Specification for further details.

To record cost contributions for tailored learning you must use the correct learning delivery monitoring (LDM) codes. Refer to the ILR specification for further details.

The eligibility principles we apply to tailored learning provision are as follows. It must not be:

• provision linked to UK visa requirements
• provision linked to occupational regulation unless there is an agreed concession in place
• learning, for example, ‘induction to college’, that should be part of a learner’s experience
• used primarily or solely for ‘leisure’ purposes
• a non-regulated version of a regulated qualification
• a regulated qualification that is not currently approved for funding
• above notional level 3.

Where you are delivering tailored learning, you must ensure you have appropriate and robust quality assurance processes in place. For instance, you could follow ‘the recognising and recording progress and achievement (RARPA) cycle’. Further information on RARPA is available from the Learning and Work Institute.

You must have a fair and transparent fees policy in place and collect fee income from people who can afford to pay and where possible extend provision to learners who cannot.

You should consider charging employers where your tailored learning is employer facing. Your fees policy must be available on your website and, where appropriate, in the venues where you deliver tailored learning.

Funding for developing innovative provision

Funding for developing innovative provision enables Providers to earn up to 3% of their DTCCA ASF allocation on the development of innovative provision. The purpose of this flexibility is to encourage local innovation and to support eligible Providers to be able to develop new provision, in partnership with local employers and others.

To be eligible to utilise up to 3% of your DTCCA funding ASF grant allocation for the development of new innovative provision you must have:

• Delivered Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) funded adult education budget (AEB) learning aims in 2024 to 2025, excluding FCFJ, and community learning
• a 2026 to 2027 ASF allocation (excluding FCFJ) over £500,000
• a 2026 to 2027 tailored learning value of less than 20% of your ASF.

If you are eligible, the maximum amount of funding you can draw down for this purpose is set out in your funding agreement, and we will not fund above this value.

We expect that provision developed using this flexibility reflects the priorities outlined in the Greater Devon Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), the DTCCA Future Skills and Workforce Plan, and the Get Devon, Plymouth, and Torbay Working Plan.

You have the flexibility to use all, or some, of the 3% of your ASF allocation and you must use this flexibility to fund the development costs of establishing new provision. This includes:

• research and developments costs – to support work with large employers or local small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) or micro businesses to scope and develop non-accredited provision bespoke to that employer
• project management costs – to support the costs of overseeing the project development and setting up of new non-accredited provision – it could also cover the staff costs of developing and preparing new qualifications for submission to DfE or awarding body approval processes
• training for the trainer – developing training for teaching staff to be able to deliver provision in new and emerging fields such as green skills and artificial intelligence.

You must be able to demonstrate that the above activity has been delivered and ensure you clearly document and retain records as evidence of the complete breakdown of costs that have been incurred and paid.

This evidence may well form part of the documentation comprised of your normal financial systems and processes which demonstrate clearly the different costs specifically spent from this funding such as direct costs (invoices, expenses), personnel costs (payroll, time records) and any indirect costs (how these have been calculated).

Your spend may also have been subject to an audit from your own statutory or internal auditors, in which case assurance of spend may be accepted where this can be evidenced from audit reports and audit committee minutes. We will recover funding that is not duly spent, recorded and evidenced as above, or duly assured by your auditors and evidenced from relevant audit reports, or evidenced from formal audit committee minutes, as stated above.

You must complete the funding claim. Although the relevant guidance will not be published until later in the year by the DWP, it will be in line with the funding claims guidance for 2025/2026, and will be published here: how to submit a funding claim.

You must not use this flexibility to claim:

• funding for learners, including those where new provision is being piloted
• for any capital costs, building/estates refurbishments, maintenance and restoration.

Support funding

The DTCCA funded ASF’s overarching aim is to support as many eligible adult learners as possible to access learning. Some learners will need additional support to start or stay in learning.

Where you identify that a learner has a learning difficulty or disability, or a financial barrier, your DTCCA funded ASF allocation enables you to claim learning support and/or learner support funding to meet the additional needs of learners.

Support for learners undertaking tailored learning is funded from within the tailored learning allocation.

Learning support

Learning support is available to meet the cost of putting in place a reasonable adjustment, as set out in the Equality Act 2010, for learners who have an identified learning difficulty or disability, to achieve their learning goal.

Learning support must not be used to deal with everyday difficulties that are not directly associated with a learner’s learning on their programme.

You must:

• carry out and document a thorough assessment to identify the learner’s learning difficulty or disability – the cost of this assessment cannot be claimed through ASF
• agree and record the assessment and outcome of your assessment in the evidence pack
• record details of the reasonable adjustments required and how support will be planned and delivered
• record and retain the appropriate evidence to demonstrate that the planned support has been delivered for each month you have claimed
• confirm the continuing necessity and appropriateness of these reasonable adjustments monthly – you must record this information and retain it in the evidence pack
• report in the ILR that a learner has a learning support need associated with an identified learning aim, by entering code LSF1 in the ‘Learning Delivery Funding and Monitoring’ field and entering the corresponding dates in the ‘Date applies from’ and ‘Date applies to’ fields – this does not apply to any non-formula tailored learning
• only claim learning support funding for each month in which reasonable adjustments are provided to the learner and where evidence of costs can be provided. For months in which no reasonable adjustments are necessary, or no costs have been incurred, a claim for learning support funding must not be made.

All learning support claims must be reported in the ILR. To claim any costs that exceed the fixed monthly rate, up to £19,000 you must also use the earnings adjustment statement (EAS). For any costs over £19,000 see the next section for Exceptional learning support.

You must keep evidence of these additional costs in the evidence pack. You must only record the excess amount on the EAS, not the whole learning support cost.

Exceptional learning support claims above £19,000

If a learner needs significant levels of support to start or continue learning and has support costs of more than £19,000 in a funding year, you can claim exceptional learning support (ELS) but only for the amount above £19,000.

The amount up to £19,000 should be claimed through the monthly rate and any excess funding through the EAS.

Learners aged 19 to 24 who require significant levels of support should have an EHC plan provided by their local authority and, therefore, would access funding from their local authority.

You must submit ELS claims at the beginning of the learner’s programme, or when you identify the learner requires support costs more than £19,000 in a funding year, by completing and sending the exceptional learning support – cost form to the DTCCA.

To claim exceptional learning support for a learner aged 19 to 24 you must confirm why the individual does not have an EHC plan. This should be a letter or email from the learner’s local authority stating the reasons why the individual does not need an EHC plan.

When you claim exceptional learning support you must explain why you have claimed the amount you have, which would be linked to the learner’s assessment and planned learning support claim. You must only claim amounts for your costs of providing the support to the learner and not include any indirect costs or overheads.

Learner Support

Learner support is available to provide financial support for learners with a specific financial hardship preventing them from taking part or continuing in learning. Before you award support to a learner, you must identify their needs within the following categories:

• hardship funding – general financial support for financially disadvantaged learners to support participation learning
• 20+ childcare funding – for learners aged 20 or older on the first day of learning who are at risk of not starting or continuing learning because of childcare costs
• Care to Learn top up for 19-year-olds
• residential Access funding – to support DTCCA funded ASF learners (set out in the Who we fund section) where they need to live away from home to access provision
• ICT devices and connectivity – to support disadvantaged learners who cannot undertake online delivery without this provision.

You must not claim more than 5% of your total learner support as administration expenditure. You must document your process for managing your administration costs over the current funding year and record, report and retain evidence on spending for each of the categories above. You must follow these rules and claim learner support using the appropriate method as set out below.

You must:

• have criteria for how you will administer and distribute your funds, these must reflect the principles of equality and diversity and be available to learners and to us on request
• assess and record the learner’s needs, demonstrating the need for support – you must record this information and retain in the evidence pack
• report the appropriate Learner Support Reason codes in the ‘Learner Funding and Monitoring’ fields in the ILR – this does not apply to non-formula tailored learning
• complete 3 funding claims throughout the year in line with funding claims guidance if you have a grant agreement, else record delivery through the earning adjustment statement each month if on a contract for services
• consider the availability of other support for learners, for example from Jobcentre Plus
• make it clear to learners it is their responsibility to tell DWP about any learner support they are receiving from you, as learner support payments may affect their eligibility for state benefits
• use either ASF or loans bursary to support specific provision funded by either ASF or ALL where a learner is on 2 courses at the same time.

You must not use learner support funds for any of the following:

• essential equipment or facilities if the learner is eligible for full funding, with the exception of the items covered in the first clause of the Hardship section and the flexibilities in the ICT devices and connectivity section
• a learner in custody or released on temporary licence
• a learner carrying out a higher education course or learning aims fully funded from other sources
• to pay attendance allowances or achievement and attendance bonuses.

Hardship

You can use hardship funds for the following:

• course-related costs, including course trips, books and equipment (where costs are not included in the funding rate)
• support with domestic emergencies and emergency accommodation provided by others, or by providing items or services or cash direct to the learner, this can be in the form of a grant or repayable loan provided by you
• transport costs (but not make a block contribution to post-16 transport partnerships or routinely fund transport costs covered in the Local Authority’s legal duty for learners of sixth form age)
• examination fees
• accreditation fees, professional membership fees and any fees or charges due to external bodies
• your registration fees.
• In exceptional circumstances, you can use hardship funds to assist with course fees for learners who need financial support to start or stay in learning.
• If an asylum seeker is eligible for provision, you may provide learner support in the form of course-related books, equipment, cash payments or a travel pass.

Childcare

For 20+ learners you can only use childcare funding to pay for childcare with a childminder, provider or childminder agency, registered with Ofsted.

You must not use childcare funding to:

• fund informal childcare, provided by a relative
• set up childcare places or to make a financial contribution to the costs of a crèche.

Learner support may be used to ‘top up’ childcare costs for 19-year-old learners receiving care to learn funding if their costs exceed the weekly maximum rates for that scheme.

The top up may only be applied to childcare provision eligible under the Care to Learn scheme rules. You must hold evidence that the maximum amount is being paid under care to learn to confirm that a top up is required.

Any top up paid must be made in line with care to learn guidance and paid directly to the childcare provider.

You must claim for care to learn top-up through learner support 20+ childcare category.

To claim learner support to top-up care to learn you must follow the same process currently set out in the Learner support section.

Residential access funding

You can use residential access funding to support DTCCA funded ASF learners who meet eligibility criteria in the Who we fund section, where they need to live away from home, for example to access specialist provision which involves a residential element, or to support learners who cannot access provision locally.

You must:

• set out the criteria and procedures for considering and agreeing applications for support from your residential access funds
• only pay for travel costs for learners who are awarded residential access funding in exceptional circumstances
• only claim residential access funding for the period the learner is resident, this could be in accommodation you own or manage or other accommodation which you have agreed to fund in line with your criteria
• ensure you evidence the costs that make up your claim represent value for money for the local area
• publish your rates where you have your own residential facilities.

ICT devices and connectivity

You can support disadvantaged learners who are undertaking classroom or blended learning to continue to participate via online learning where the learner does not have:

• internet access at home
• a suitable device, for example a laptop or tablet, to compete the necessary online course work.

You must secure value for money when purchasing IT devices and internet access including:

• deploying any unused devices before you purchase new ones
• exploring options to access low cost second hand or recycled devices
• avoiding entering long term contract arrangements
• holding a record of actual costs for any IT devices or internet access bought for this purpose and make this available to us, if asked.

IT devices you purchase must only be loaned out to learners and returned at the end of their learning aim to allow them to be re-used by other learners. Learners must sign a declaration, confirming:

• they will return the device when their online learning aims are complete, or if they leave before completing their learning
• they will return the device in the same condition in which they received it.

You must maintain an up-to-date record of the loan and return of devices to learners.

You must record the following evidence in the learner’s evidence pack:

• the outcome of the assessment undertaken to identify the learner’s individual needs
• the learner declaration referred to above.

Job outcome payments

The earnings method principles changed for Grant Funded Providers starting aims on or after 1 August 2024. In previous years 20% of funding was held back and only earned on achievement of the learning aim, this will continue for procured Contracts for Services. This 20% element will continue to be earned on completion for Grant Funded Providers for new starts from 1 August 2024. We therefore refer to ‘achievement/completion’ and ‘achieves/completes’ to reflect the difference. For more information refer to the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula for 2026 to 2027.

For fully funded learners who are unemployed we will pay 50% of the completion or achievement payment if they start a job before completing or achieving the learning aim. If the learner then completes or achieves the learning aim, we will pay the remaining achievement payment.

The following conditions apply:

• the learner must provide you with evidence through a declaration, that they have a job for at least 16 hours or more a week for 4 consecutive weeks
• where the learner was claiming benefits relating to unemployment, they must also declare that they have stopped claiming these.

Section 3: Payments and performance management

Overview (all funding agreements)

This section sets out the principles by which we will manage your performance in funding year 2026 to 2027 and should be read in conjunction with the DTCCA ASF Performance Management Framework for 2026 to 2027.

Providers who have successfully secured ASF funding for delivery will be subject to financial health checks to gain assurance that they are financially resilient. This will also serve to identify and address potential failure risks, where appropriate and required, the DTCCA will work collaboratively with Providers to intervene to ensure that delivery remains viable.

The DTCCA will adopt two routes of contracted provision for the ASF and FCFJ, as stated in the DTCCA ASF Strategic Skills Strategy:

• Route 1: Grant allocations (Grant Funding Agreement)
• Route 2: Contracts awarded through a procurement exercise from the Skills for Growth Open Framework (Contract for Services)

We will apply our principles of performance management consistently to all ASF Grant Providers and Contract for Services Providers.

Providers will be required to submit all learner data monthly data to the DfE themselves using the ILR and EAS for each aim that is supported, and maintain evidence that support the costs.

Performance management and assurance processes will be set out within Provider Grant Funding Agreements and Contracts for Services, and must be followed in conjunction with the DTCCA ASF Performance Management Framework for 2026 to 2027.

The DTCCA ASF Commissioning Team will be responsible for performance monitoring, risk evaluation, and due diligence of Provider delivery.

Your Grant Funding Agreement and / Contract for Services will state the amount funded provision you can deliver between 1 August 2026 and 31 July 2027. 

Providers will be required to deliver services in accordance with the approved annual Delivery Plan, including agreed funding profiles, enrolment volumes and curriculum scope, while ensuring the protection of public funds, value for money, and the effective delivery of high-quality training and skills services for learners.

As part of our financial assurance and monitoring work, we will continue to monitor compliance with the funding rules.

Providers will be required to participate in regular Performance Management meetings as part of the DTCCA’s risk-based contract performance management framework, which is designed to monitor performance, ensure accountability, and support the effective delivery of agreed outcomes.

The frequency of monitoring and review visits may be increased if you are underperforming or we have other concerns about your delivery.

Providers will be advised in writing in advance of any in-year changes being made to the value of its Grant Funding Agreement or Contract for Services.

The DTCCA reserve the right to cease payments, should a Provider be in breach of their Grant Funding Agreement or Contract for Services.

Providers will be required to submit quarterly progress reports to the DTCCA detailing learner enrolments, progress, and achievement, accompanied with copies of your monthly ILR submissions for monitoring of delivery against Annual Delivery Plans throughout the lifetime of the contract.

Performance will be assessed against learner recruitment, retention, achievement, progression, destination outcomes and value for money. The DTCCA may increase reporting or monitoring requirements where a Provider is underperforming or where delivery concerns arise.

The DTCCA will also carry out targeted desktop audits, quality assurance visits, and mid-year performance reviews to identify risks early and support continuous improvement.

Underperformance will trigger a Provider Action Plan or escalation process and may result in corrective action, contract variation, or withdrawal of funding.

The Provider Action Plan will seek to mitigate an area of risk or to improve the quality or performance in accordance with the DTCCA. For more information on the Provider Action Plan, refer to the DTCCA ASF Performance Management Framework for 2026 to 2027.

We will use our approach to funding to make sure learning provision is of a high quality. We will use your track record to assess your ability to deliver education and training to the required standard. The DTCCA may reduce, withhold, recover or withdraw funding, and Providers will not normally be considered for allocation increases, where one or more of the following applies:

• your Ofsted grade is inadequate, or for inspections from 10 November 2025 when the new Ofsted inspection framework started, we will evaluate each case according to its own circumstances particularly during the first 12 months of transition when deciding whether to increase or reduce your allocation
• you are in formal intervention for minimum standards or inspection
• you have been issued with a notice for financial management and control
• you have been issued with a notice to improve, additional conditions of funding or additional contractual obligations in relation to minimum quality standards for 19+ education and training
• you have significantly under delivered against your contract value in previous years
• you are subject to an investigation for breach of contract or failed audit.

The DTCCA will implement 2 key payment reconciliation points, mid-academic year and at the end of the academic delivery year, to recover funds or make payments against actual delivery providers submit through their ILR, EAS and funding claims. The authority reserves the right to increase the number of reconciliation points throughout the academic year depending on the risk profile of the provider.

At the end of each contract, a full reconciliation process will be completed to validate delivery against claims and ensure funding has been used appropriately. Final learner records, attendance data, and outcomes evidence will be used to confirm actual performance and recover any overpayments or unearned funds. Providers will receive a Contract Closure Report summarising outcomes and identifying any issues for future commissioning.

Over-delivery and / or delivery towards non-approved DfE qualifications will not be funded unless an appropriate Business Case has been submitted to and approved by the DTCCA.

Overperformance may be rewarded if additional funds are available (subject to contract caps and performance reviews). At no stage will the cumulative payments made to a Provider breach maximum contract values.

As part of our funding assurance work, we will continue to monitor compliance with these funding rules. We will contact Providers where we find they have submitted data that does not meet our funding rules, or our ILR and EAS requirements. We will require Providers to correct inaccurate ILR and EAS data or to adjust their final funding claim.

Providers must comply with the DTCCA’s ASF Funding and Performance Management Rules, the DTCCA ASF Performance Management Framework, and the DTCCA ASF Funding Rates and Formula for the corresponding academic year.

Your funding agreement will span 2 financial years:

• August 2026 to March 2027: periods 1 to 8 of funding year 2026 to 2027
• April 2027 to July 2027: periods 9 to 12 of funding year 2026 to 2027

You must not transfer funds between funding budgets.

You must not transfer funds between the following funding agreements:

• DTCCA Education and Skills Funding agreement (grant for the ASF and FCFJ)
• DTCCA funded ASF and FCFJ contract for services (procured from August 2026).

Providers must submit accurate funding claims that can be fully evidenced including:  ILR compliant learner data, EAS data, evidence of delivery, progression data and achievement certificates (where and when applicable), and where applicable learner and learning support evidence (including learner support plans). If data is incorrect, incomplete, or late, payment can be delayed or reduced.

Where appropriate, payment systems will also support limited, risk managed upfront payments linked to agreed delivery plans, with full reconciliation against validated ILR/EAS data and established clawback mechanisms.

We may increase, decrease, or change the review points we operate, in line with delivery against the funding available or policy changes. We will distribute funds only through a formulaic calculation based on Provider performance (not through a Provider bidding/business case approach) and you must meet the criteria for growth.

Your funding agreement will show allocation lines as separate values. We will manage these as individual allocation lines and you cannot transfer funds. Your funding agreement has separate performance arrangements and are made up of the following allocation lines: 

• ASF 
• Tailored Learning
• FCFJ.

Payments

The DTCCA will calculate the value of actual delivery using the latest validated ILR and EAS returns with DfE funding formulas applied. ILR and EAS data and payments will also be subject to compliance with the DTCCA’s data validation, assurance and performance management processes.

Providers earn funding as learners progress through learning aims, with earnings generated through learner starts, on-programme participation and completion / achievement, where applicable. The DTCCA will validate ILR data and calculate earned funding for each period.

A learner must be in learning for a minimum number of days between their learning start date and learning planned end date before they are classified as learners that earn funding, including learner and learning support. This is calculated from the ILR learning start date. For learners that have been enrolled, to be considered as qualified for funding during reconciliation checks, they must be in learning for at least the qualifying period.

Providers funded through a Grant Funding Agreement will be paid through monthly profile payments based on their maximum grant funded value for the academic year. At the minimum of 2 key reconciliation points, actual delivery to date will be compared to payments made to providers in receipt of a Grant Funding Agreement to recover funds or make payments against actual delivery Providers submit through their ILR, EAS and funding claims.

Providers funded through a Contract for Services will be paid based on actual delivery each month, including learner and learning support, up to the contract value for the financial year..

Providers funded through a Contract for Services must submit accurate funding claims that can be fully evidenced including:  ILR compliant learner data, EAS data, evidence of delivery, progression data and achievement certificates (where and when applicable), and where applicable learner and learning support evidence (including learner support plans). If data is incorrect, incomplete, or late, payment can be delayed or reduced.

Annexes

Annex A: Eligibility for funding

This Annex sets out the countries falling within the below categories as referenced in the residency eligibility section.

British Overseas Territories:

• Anguilla
• Bermuda
• British Antarctic Territory
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Falkland Islands
• Gibraltar
• Montserrat
• Pitcairn, Henderson Island, Ducie and Oeno Islands
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Isles
• St Helena and its dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha)
• Turks and Caicos Islands.

EEA

The EEA comprises of the following countries:

• All Member States of the European Union

You can access a list of member states on the EU website.

With respect to EEA nationality, note that any Cypriot national living on any part of the island qualifies for EU residency and is considered an EU national.

• Iceland
• Lichtenstein
• Norway

The table below lists territories that are categorised as being within the EU and or territories that are categorised as being part of the listed countries such that they satisfy our residency requirements for the purposes of the ASF funding rules.

Country	Territories – Part of the specified country only:	Territories – Part of the specified country and the EU:
Denmark	Greenland Faroe Islands
Finland		Aland islands
France	New Caledonia and its dependencies French Polynesia and Saint Barthélemy	the French Overseas Department (DOMS) (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana (Guyana), Reunion and SaintPierre et Miquelon)
Germany		Tax-free port of Heligoland
Netherlands	Antilles (Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, St Eustatius, and St Maarten) Aruba
Portugal		Madeira The Azores
Spain		the Balearic Islands the Canary Islands Ceuta Melilla

To note: Andorra, Macau, Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican are not part of the EU or the EEA.

Annex B: Qualification

Full level 2 qualification

Full level 2 is the level of attainment which, is demonstrated by:

• a GCSE in 5 subjects, each at grade 4 (C) or above
• a Technical Certificate at level 2 which meets the requirements for the 16 to 19 performance tables.

Refer to DfE list of qualifications approved for funding and the prior attainment level tables in the ILR specification: 2026 to 2027. You can email qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk if you need advice on a previous qualification’s designation.

Full level 3 qualification

Full level 3 is the level of attainment which is demonstrated by a:

• General Certificate of Education at the advanced level in 2 subjects
• General Certificate of Education at the AS level in 4 subjects
• QAA Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma at level 3
• Technical, or applied general qualification at level 3, which meets the requirements for the 16 to 19 performance tables
• Core maths at level 3.

Refer to DfE list of qualifications approved for funding and the prior attainment level tables in the ILR specification: 2026 to 2027. You can email qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk if you need advice on a previous qualification’s designation.

For new linear AS and A levels, where a learner enrols on an AS qualification and continues with further study to take the A level qualification in the same subject, you must record both the AS and A level in the ILR. The AS learning aim will be funded separately to the A level learning aim.

Approved qualifications

Where you deliver regulated qualifications and their components, you must ensure they are approved for DfE funded ASF and available on FALA.

Qualifications and public funding provides information on qualifications that are no longer approved for funding.

Where you deliver approved qualifications and their components you must ensure that learners are registered for the qualifications and component in line with the awarding policies and procedures. You must not ‘pre-register’ students a significant period in advance of the learner starting the qualification.

We will fund qualifications that are linked to occupational regulation/licence to practise. You can find more information about these qualifications at the qualifications website.

Before delivering a component, you must check with the awarding organisation they provide a learner registration facility, and the learner can achieve it alone or as part of accumulating achievement towards a qualification.

If the UK ENIC has confirmed the authenticity of a qualification gained overseas and confirmed it is comparable/compatible with a regulated qualification in England, currently part of the level 2 and level 3 legal entitlement, the individual will be deemed to have achieved their first full level 2 and level 3 qualification.

You must provide accurate unique learner number (ULN) information to awarding organisations and ensure all information you use to register learners for qualifications is correct. You can find more information in the Learner Records Service guidance.

Annex C: Evidence

Evidence Pack

The evidence pack must contain evidence to support the DTCCA Adult Skills funding claimed and must be available to us if we need it.

Evidence in the evidence pack must assure us that the learner exists and that they are a resident of the DTCCA administrative area.

The learner must confirm information they provide is correct when it is collected.

If the time spent in learning is short, the level of evidence in the evidence pack would reflect this.

All paper files for the evidence pack should also be available electronically. Where you hold information centrally, you only need to refer to the source.

If applicable, the evidence pack must confirm the following:

• all information reported to us in the ILR, EAS, funding claims if applicable, and all supporting evidence to substantiate the data that you report and the costs you have incurred for funding claims
• your assessment and verified evidence of eligibility for funding and a counter signed record of the evidence the learner has provided to support their eligibility for funding
• copies of all assessments and diagnostics undertaken to determine a learner’s requirements
• evidence and information on prior learning that affects the learning or the funding of any of the learning aims or programme
• for ‘personalised learning programmes’, for example, non-regulated learning aims, full details of all the aspects of the learning to be carried out, including supporting evidence of the number of planned hours reported in the ILR
• a description of how you will deliver the learning and skills and how the learner will achieve
• the supporting evidence about why you have claimed funding and the level of funding for a learner
• details and evidence of any learner or employer contribution
• support needs to be identified, including how you will meet these needs and the evidence of that
• that learning is taking or has taken place and records are available
• if applicable, a learner’s self-declaration as to what state benefit they claim
• a learner’s self-declaration on their status relating to gaining a job
• all records and evidence of achievement of qualifications, learning aims. This must be available within 3 months of you reporting it in the ILR.

Where the learner is unemployed, this must include a record of what you have agreed with them, including the relevance of the learning to their employment prospects and the labour market needs.

Confirmation and signatures

The learner must confirm the information is correct when it is collected. You must have evidence of this, which can include electronic formats.

We accept electronic evidence, including electronic/digital signatures. Where evidence is electronic, you must have wider systems and processes in place to assure you that learners exist and are eligible for funding.

Both electronic and digital signatures are acceptable. We do not specify which should be used, only that a secure process to obtain and store signatures is followed:

• an electronic signature is defined as any electronic symbol or process that is associated with any record or document, where there is an intention to sign the document by any party involved
• an electronic signature can be anything from a check box to a signature
• a digital signature is where a document with an electronic signature is secured by a process making it non-refutable
• it is a digital fingerprint which captures the act of signing by applying security to a document – usually documents which have a digital signature embedded are extremely secure and cannot be accessed or amended easily.

Where an electronic or digital signature is being held, from any party for any reason, you must ensure it is non-refutable. This includes the definitions of both wet and dry signatures. Systems and processes must be in place to assure to us the original signature has not been altered. Where any document needs to be renewed, and a new signature taken, it must be clear from when the new document takes effect, and both must be held.

You must keep effective and reliable evidence. You are responsible for making the evidence you hold easily available to us when we need it.

Starting, participating and achieving

You can only claim DTCCA funded ASF when directly related learning starts. This would not include enrolment, induction, prior assessment, diagnostic testing, or similar activities.

Your delivery must have direct centre approval and where appropriate, direct qualification approval from the respective awarding organisation for the regulated qualifications you are offering.

Delivery of the qualification (including learner registration with the awarding organisation) must be in line with the qualification specification and guidance set out by the relevant awarding organisation.

You must have evidence that the learning took place, and the learner was not certificated for prior knowledge.

Where the learning is certificated, you must follow the relevant awarding organisation’s procedure for claiming the relevant certificates and ensure the learner receives them. You must evidence this has happened in the evidence pack.

Leaving learning

You must report the learning actual end date in the ILR for a learner who leaves learning as the last day that you can evidence they took part in a learning activity.

Individualised learner record

You must accurately complete all ILR fields as required in the 2026 to 2027 ILR specification even if they are not required for funding purposes.

The ILR must accurately reflect the learning and support (where applicable) you have identified, planned and delivered to eligible learners. You must not report inaccurate information that would result in an overstatement of the funding claimed.

Where your data does not support the funding claimed, we will take action to correct this, and we could recover funds you overstated.

Self-declarations by learners

All self-declarations must confirm the learner’s details and describe what the learner is confirming for requirements set out in this document.

If a learner self-declares prior attainment, you must check this in the personal learning record (PLR) and query any contradictory information with the learner. The PLR will not necessarily override the learner’s self-declaration.

Glossary of terms

Term	Definition
20+ childcare	A category of learner support to assist learners aged over the age of 20 who are at risk of not starting learning or leaving learning due to issues in obtaining childcare.
Advanced learner loan (ALL)	Advanced learner loans are available for individuals aged 19 or above to undertake approved qualifications at levels 3 to level 6, at an approved provider in England. Advanced learner loans give individuals access to financial support for tuition costs similar to that available in higher education and is administered by Student Loans Company.
Annual gross salary	Gross salary is the total income before any deductions are removed from that amount. This total income is usually described as an annual salary, and it is the total amount an employee will receive for work completed before tax of national contributions are deducted.
ASF funding methodology	The funding methodology for individuals aged 19 and over, participating in ASF learning.
Benefit Status Indicator (BSI)	To identify if the claimant is in receipt of JSA (BSI 1), UC (BSI 4), or ESA (all categories) (BSI 5).
Break in learning	When a learner is not continuing with their learning but has told you beforehand that they intend to resume their learning in the future.
Completion	When a learner has completed their learning aim.
Care to learn	A DfE scheme to assist young parents under the age of 20 with the childcare costs that may form a barrier to them continuing in education.
Components of regulated qualification	A subset of a qualification, which could be a unit.
Continuing learners	Learners who commenced learning in a previous funding year and remain in learning as of 1 August 2026.
Devolution of adult education functions	The devolution of adult education functions refers to the transfer of certain Secretary of State functions in the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009.
Digital entitlement	The study of EDS qualifications for learners who have digital skills assessed at below level 1. Qualifications that are designated up to and including level 1 are: – essential digital skills qualifications – digital functional skills qualifications
Direct costs of learning	Any costs for items necessary for the learner to complete their qualification. This can include the costs of registration, examination or any other activities or materials.
Distance Learning	Learning delivered away from the learner’s main place of employment or place of learning but must be in England.
Earnings adjustment statement (EAS)	The form Providers need to fill in to claim funding that cannot be claimed through the ILR.
Earnings	A measure of the money people receive in return for work done, before tax (gross). It includes salaries but not unearned income, benefits in kind or arrears of pay.
Earnings threshold	The earnings threshold is an eligibility criteria, that enables learners to be fully funded if they earn below than £26,800.
Education health and care (EHC) plan	An EHC plan is a legal document that sets out a child or young person’s special educational needs, the outcomes they are working towards, and the coordinated education, health, and care support required to meet those needs. The local authority has a legal duty to ‘secure’ the educational provision specified in the plan, meaning it must ensure that the support is put in place.
European Economic Area (EEA)	The EEA consists of the Member States of the European Union (EU) and 3 countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, excluding Switzerland). The Agreement on the EEA entered into force on 1 January 1994. Refer to appendix A for more information.
European Union (EU)	A list of member states is available on the EU website.
Employment status	The main types of employment status are: worker employee self-employed and contractor director office holder. More information on employment status is available.
English for speakers of other languages (ESOL)	Refers to the teaching and learning of English for people whose first language is not English, enabling them to develop the language skills needed for everyday life, education, and work.
DTCCA funded ASF	Funding you can claim from the DTCCA for delivery of ASF eligible provision to individuals set out in the Who we fund section.
Evidence pack	A collection of documents and information brought together to form a single point of reference relating to learning that is taking place. This must provide evidence to prove the learner exists, is eligible for funding, the planned learning to be provided, and that learning has been delivered.
Exceptional learning support (ELS)	Learning support funding to meet the costs of putting in place a reasonable adjustment for a learner who requires more than £19,000 in a funding year.
Find a learning aim (FALA)	Find a learning aim provides online services to find the latest information on available qualifications, non-regulated learning, apprenticeship standards, T Levels and units. Standards will show you information on funding, dates and common components. Qualifications and units show you funding streams for courses and the last date learners can start.
Free courses for jobs (FCFJ)	A targeted adult offer includes level 2 qualifications in construction, engineering and manufacturing and level 3 qualifications. Available to support adults who meet the definition of being below the earnings threshold or unemployed outlined in the Free courses for jobs section.
Full level 2	The following qualifications are designated full at level 2: General Certificate of Secondary Education in 5 subjects, each at grade C or above, or grade 4 or above a Technical Certificate at level 2 which meets or has previously met the requirements for 16 to 19 performance tables
Full level 3	The following qualifications are designated full at level 3: General Certificate of Education at the advanced level in 2 subjects General Certificate of Education at the AS level in 4 subjects QAA Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma at level 3 technical or applied general qualification at level 3 which meets or has previously met the requirements for 16 to 19 performance tables  – core maths qualification at level 3
Full or co-funding Indicator (FFI)	Indicates whether a learning aim is fully funded or co-funded in adult skills or other adult funding.
Functional skills	Applied practical skills in English, maths and digital that provide the learner with the essential knowledge, skills and understanding to enable them to operate effectively and independently in life and work.
Funding agreement	Agreement between the DTCCA and Providers who receive funding for education and skills training, either via a Grant Agreement and/or a Contract for Services.
Funding model (11 and 38)	Identifies the funding methodology we apply to submission of finalised ILR data. For ASF funding, Funding Model 11 (Tailored Learning) and 38 (Adult Skills) are used, noting model 11 is non-formula funded (as in, ILR data does not generate a funding rate and is paid on monthly profile) and model 38 is formula funded. More information is available in the 2026 to 2027 ILR Specification.
Funding year	The DTCCA’s adult funding system operates on a funding year basis, which starts on 1 August and finishes on 31 July.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)	The GDPR is retained in domestic law as the UK GDPR, but the UK has the independence to keep the framework under review. The ‘UK GDPR’ sits alongside an amended version of the Data Protection Act (DPA) 2018.
Hardship	Within learner support, a category of support to assist vulnerable and disadvantaged learners to remove barriers to education and training.
Individualised learner record (ILR)	The primary data collection requested from learning providers for FE and work-based learning in England. The government uses this data to monitor policy implementation and the performance of the sector. It is also used by organisations that allocate funding for FE.
ILR specification	The ILR Specification contains the technical documents, guidance and requirements to help Providers collect, return and check ILR and other learner data.
Job outcome payments	Payments made for learners who are unemployed at the start of learning who cease learning to take up a job.
Learner residency	We use the term ‘resident’ or ‘residence’ in this document for different purposes.   Residence in the UK, EU and EEA has specific definitions in education law, and this is set out in the ‘residency eligibility’ section.   Following the devolution of adult education functions, there is a new emphasis on residence in England, in determining and evidencing eligibility for funded ASF – see Who we fund and Annex C Evidence for DTCCA residency funding criteria.   This means the permanent residency of an individual in England (as in, not a temporary address for duration of learning taking place), immediately prior to enrolment determines eligibility for DfE funded ASF.
Learner support	Funding to enable Providers to support learners with a specific financial hardship that might prevent them from being able to start or complete their learning. May be used to ‘top up’ childcare costs for 19-year-old learners receiving Care to Learn funding if their costs exceed the weekly maximum rates for that scheme.
Learning aim	Statements that describe the overarching intentions of a course.
Learning aim reference number	The unique eight-character code used to identify a specific learning aim.
Learning delivery monitoring (LDM)	A code used as part of the ILR to indicate participation in programmes or initiatives.
Learning planned end date	The date entered onto the ILR when the learner is expected to complete their learning.
Legal entitlements	DTCCA funded ASF includes support for 4 legal entitlements to full funding for resident eligible adult learners. These entitlements are set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills and Children Learning Act 2009 and include: English and maths, up to and including level 2, for individuals aged 19 and over, where the learner has not achieved grade 4 (C) or higher, or where the learner has been assessed as having an existing skill level lower than grade 4 (even if they have previously achieved a GCSE or equivalent qualification in English and maths) First full qualification at level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23 First full qualification at level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23 Essential digital skills qualifications, up to and including level 1, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have digital skills assessed at below level 1
Leisure Learning	Defined as learning where the primary or sole intent of the learning is for leisure. This applies to curriculum intent and to the learner’s purpose for undertaking the learning.
Local flexibility	Regulated qualifications, and their components, that we fund, which is not part of the English and maths, or level 2 or level 3 legal entitlement offer. From 1 August 2025, Performing Arts Graded Exam qualifications were not funded through the local flexibility offer. All regulated qualifications that are available for funding through the flexible local offer is listed on FALA.
Non-regulated learning	Learning which is not subject to awarding organisation external accreditation in the form of a regulated qualification. It may be designed, delivered and certificated by a Provider or another organisation. This could include: independent living skills engagement and confidence building employability skills labour market re-entry essential skills (English, maths, digital) and ESOL
Ofqual	The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation, which regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England.
Ordinarily resident	For funding purposes, a person who normally lives in the United Kingdom, are allowed to live there by law, and return there after temporary trips outside the country.
Personal learning record (PLR)	A database that allows individual learners access to their past and current achievement records. These can be shared with schools, colleges, FE training providers, universities or employers.
Policy entitlements	Alongside the legal entitlements there are policy entitlements allowing full funding for residency eligibility learners, over 19 years old, and meet the earnings threshold criteria or are unemployed, these include: Free courses for jobs level 2 and below local flexibility heavy goods vehicle (HGV) 19 to 24 work placements the sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) The King’s Trust English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) up to Level 2
Recognising and recording progress and achievement (RARPA)	The Learning and Work Institute have published updated RARPA guidance. This comprises a clear framework designed to support learners through the learning process, identifying key outcomes. It provides a robust approach to quality assurance and improvement of non-regulated provision with a focus on self-assessment that supports standards acceptable to Ofsted. You can access further information from The Learning and Work Institute.
Recognition of prior learning (RPL)	An assessment method that considers whether a learner demonstrates that they: can meet the outcomes for a qualification or a component of a qualification through knowledge, understanding – skills that they already have so do not need to undertake a course of learning for that component or qualification
Regulated Qualifications Framework (RQF)	RQF provides a way of understanding and describing the relative level and size of qualifications. RQF, operated by Ofqual, is a single regulatory framework containing a range of general, technical and professional qualifications.
Residential support	Support provided under learner support to learners receiving specialist provision, which involves a residential element, or to support learners who cannot receive provision locally.
Sector-based work academy programme (SWAP)	SWAP is a DWP scheme that offers pre-employment training, work experience placements and a guaranteed job interview for recipients of JSA, UC (all work-related requirements group) or ESA.
Self-declaration	A process where the learner can confirm something through his or her own signature.
Skills bootcamp	A skills bootcamp is a bespoke employer-led level 3 to 5 programme, designed to meet skills needs within the economy.
Start of learning	The date on which learning begins. We do not consider enrolment, induction, diagnostic assessment, or prior assessment to be part of learning.
State benefits	State benefits are contributions, both financial and non-financial, made by central and local government to individuals in certain circumstances to meet their day-to-day living needs.
Study programme	Study programmes are for learners aged 16 to 19 and cover all levels up to level 3. Funding is for each learner, rather than for each qualification and can only have one core aim at a time.
Tailored learning	Tailored learning is primarily non-qualification based provision that is tailored to the skills needs of the learners, employers and local communities.   Tailored learning is non-formula funded which gives it the flexibility to support learners furthest from the workplace and to meet changing employer needs.   The primary purpose of tailored learning is to support learners into employment and to progress to further learning. It also supports wider outcomes including improvements to health and wellbeing, and equipping parents and carers to support their child’s learning.   Tailored learning includes employer-facing provision that has been designed in collaboration with employers and others, that is not qualification based.
Unemployed	An individual who is looking for work and who has no earned income (earned income comprising the remuneration or profits derived from employment under a contract of service or in an office, including elective office, a trade, profession or vocation, or any other paid work).
Innovative tailored learning funding	Funding model 11 is DWP funded ASF tailored funding model that Providers must use alongside the funding claim for 2026 to 2027.
Unique learner number	A 10-digit number used to match a learner’s achievement to their PLR.
Work placement	A placement with an employer in a workplace setting.
Young people’s funding methodology	The funding methodology for individuals aged 16 to 19 (and those aged 19 to 24 with an EHC plan). You can access 16 to 19 funding methodology.

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