Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (): I am today announcing the
opening of a new capital loans scheme. The scheme will provide
loans to colleges in England with capital projects, either
underway or in advanced stages of planning, that have a funding
gap because of restrictions on commercial borrowing following the
Office for National Statistics (ONS) decision to classify
colleges as part of central government. The College Capital Loans
Scheme is in addition to the package of measures we announced at
the point of reclassification, including an additional £150
million allocation of capital grant funding to be provided in
April 2023, an additional £53 million focused on delivering small
scale energy efficiency improvements across the college estate
provided in December 2022 and investing £300 million in
reprofiling of payments before the end of the current financial
year.
DfE is making great progress in transforming the Further
Education estate. In the current spending review period we are
investing £2.8bn in England’s college estate to build a
world-class skills system that delivers the skills that the
economy needs. This investment is improving the condition of the
estate, providing new places in post-16 education; supporting the
purchase of specialist equipment and facilities needed for T
Levels; and delivering the commitment to establish 20 Institutes
of Technology across England. Most recently we confirmed the £286
million FE Capital Transformation Fund allocation. This will
allow eligible colleges to prioritise and deliver projects to
improve the condition of their estate.
I remain fully committed to the successful delivery and
completion of all college capital projects benefiting from grant
funding from my department. All colleges delivering DfE grant
funded capital projects with evidence of intent to borrow
commercially prior to reclassification will be eligible to apply
for this new scheme. The scheme will also provide a route for
meeting funding gaps faced by other capital projects being
delivered by colleges themselves, including those funded by other
government departments subject to meeting the eligibility and
assessment criteria set out in guidance published today.
We aim to offer loans to eligible DfE grant funded capital
projects by the summer, and self-funded capital projects by the
autumn.
The new college capital loans scheme will ensure our skills
reforms stay on track, providing a ladder of opportunity that
enables young people and adults to get good jobs and progress in
their careers and build the skilled workforce that businesses
need.
