Adult education spending falls, IFS analysis shows

Total spending on adult education and apprenticeships outside higher education fell by 38% in real-terms between 2010-11 and 2020-21, according to the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS). Spending on classroom-based adult education fell by 50%.

The government allocated an additional £900 million for 2024-25 in the 2021 Spending Review to allow for adults to take a free first level-3 qualification. Despite this, the IFS analysis finds that total spending will still be 25% lower in 2024-25 compared with 2010-11. It said that: “This will make it harder to achieve the government’s high ambitions to improve technical education and adult skills in order to level up poorer areas of the country.”