CPCA - Adult Education Budget (AEB)

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (the CPCA) covers the Local Authority areas of Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council, Peterborough City Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District Council, East Cambridgeshire District Council and South Cambridgeshire District Council.

The CPCA intends to procure high quality adult education and training. CPCA are seeking to build effective contractual relationships and continue to implement local flexibilities through our devolution agreement. Successful training providers will deliver contracts for services that meet our quality standards and delivery expectations aligned to the skills needs of the CPCA region. Through the tendering process successful providers will demonstrate an understanding of our local authority areas, the needs of resident learners and employers, and how they would work alongside our FE Colleges and Local Authority grant funded organisations to add value to the local curriculum offer for CPCA residents.

From the 2019/20 academic year, the CPCA has held responsibility for the regions share of devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) and how it is delivered. The AEB aims to engage adults and provide them with the skills and learning needed for work or further learning. In addition, it will improve employability skills including communication, self-confidence and attitude to work and enable people to contribute to the social wellbeing of their community.

In addition to the AEB, further government funding from the National Skills Fund: Level 3 adult Offer has been delegated to the CPCA for Level 3 Courses for the 2022/23 academic year.

The CPCAs vision is to increase skills and career progression through a network of providers operating as a 'skills escalator', in enabling adults to increase their skills levels, their productivity, and quality of life, by progressing from lower to higher levels of learning and earnings.

A headline focus of this Commissioning round is to:

⬢ Increase the proportion of Peterborough and Fenland residents with a Level 3 qualification

⬢ Reduce the number of Peterborough and Fenland residents with no formal qualifications

⬢ Target residents living in the relatively most deprived postcodes in the sub-regions, including wider Cambridgeshire and parts of Cambridge City

CPCAs overall commissioning approach will involve a combination of plan-led commissioning with grant providers and procured provision delivered through Contract for Services. This opportunity is concerned solely with procured activity.

We expect that funding for the new Multiply program will be allocated to the CPCA for a three-year period from 2022/23 - 2024-25 academic year. Please be aware that at the time of publication, funding for Multiply has not been confirmed however is being included in this procurement to enable us to efficiently plan for and procure providers ready for launch in Autumn 2022.