Do you remember the debacle regarding colleges and their capital budgets £170 million…. Sadly Mark Haysom fell on his sword. This is how the BBC reported it.
….anyway, the Skills and Life Life Long Learning Minister John Hayes has just rode into town!!
Further Education Colleges will today be given the opportunity to bid for a share of £50 million for building projects.
Around 150 colleges who have yet to benefit from the capital programme will each receive approximately £225,000 under a £30 million Renewal Grant – bringing real benefits to the learning and training of young people.
A further £20 million will be made available to colleges through an Enhanced Renewal Grant. Colleges will have the opportunity to add to their Renewal Grant, by bidding to build their total allocation to £1 million. Colleges will be expected to attract additional private finance, providing final projects of significant value.
Read the full press release
On the down side however…. Colleges submitting the bid cannot have received more than £5 million of funding for building projects in the past from the Skills Funding Agency (formerly the Learning and Skills Council). The bid also needs to show that the building project can be completed by September 2011!
These are tall orders.
And all things being considered; the level of funding is quite small.