The five Further Education (FE) college principals in Norfolk and Suffolk are calling for the Chancellor to use the Budget to address desperate funding shortages that are impacting students and holding back economic growth.
Alan Pease, David Pomfret, Paul Padda, Dr Nikos Savvas and Jerry White have put their names to a letter to the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, warning her that without investment in further education, the government’s missions cannot be delivered.
Collectively, City College Norwich, The College of West Anglia, East Coast College, Eastern Education Group, and Suffolk New College:
- educate more than half of all young people aged 16-19 in Norfolk and Suffolk;
- train more than 6,000 apprentices and their employers, and;
- provide opportunities for over 10,000 adults to re-train or upskill themselves.
The number of 16–18-year-olds studying technical courses at the five colleges is growing rapidly. The number of 16 and 17-year-olds in the region will continue to rise until at least 2029. In Norfolk alone, there will be an additional 4,000 young people needing college places in the next 5 years.
However, years of underinvestment in FE have left the region’s colleges struggling to find the space, recruit the lecturers, and provide the essential equipment needed to train these young people.
- The challenge facing Norfolk and Suffolk’s colleges is illustrated by the fact that, collectively, they:
- Have recruited 1,830 more young 16–18-year-old students than they have been funded for this year – creating a shortfall of approximately £9.1m, which they will not get compensated for fully until next year;
- Have more than 30 lecturer vacancies, hindering their ability to meet the skills needs of the region;
- Paid £5.7m VAT in the 2023/24 academic year – money they would much rather be spending on technical facilities and equipment for their students. For example, this sum could have been used to purchase 1,900 high-powered PCs to support students developing the digital skills needed for the future.
Four weeks before the Autumn Budget, the letter, which has been letter signed by more than 170 college leaders, draws attention to the stark staffing challenge in FE, the rapid growth in the numbers of 16 to 18-year-olds, and the injustice of colleges having to pay VAT.
The letter voices college leaders’ dismay at the lack of a funded pay rise for FE teachers to start to close the £9,000 pay gap between school and college teachers. That gap is making it impossible to recruit and retain lecturers in key sectors like construction, engineering and health and social care, stifling economic growth and opportunity.
Without lecturers, the letter warns, skills shortages will remain, and the government will not be able to deliver manifesto commitments like 1.5 million new homes, the transition to net zero, a reformed NHS, and much-needed productivity gains.
College leaders have also highlighted that government must fully fund the growing numbers of students enrolling in FE. No college wants to turn prospective students away, and therefore leaders have asked for a basic funding commitment from the Treasury: funding in-year growth, as well as capital investment to deliver the extra space and equipment needed.
The letter also calls on Rachel Reeves to end the injustice of VAT payments. Unlike schools and academies, colleges are not covered by the VAT refund scheme, despite being classed as public sector organisations with strong social inclusion and public service roles.
Alan Pease, Principal and Chief Executive Officer at Suffolk New College, commented:
“Suffolk New College contributes significantly to the local and regional economy through the creation of a skilled workforce for the present and future. Our valued employer partners recruit from this talent pool to ensure they have the necessary workforce skills to meet their needs, across many different sectors.
“With the onset of two enormous infrastructure projects in Suffolk – Sizewell C Nuclear Power Station and Freeport East – it is imperative that the government invests in the Further Education sector to ensure a parity of esteem with schools and universities.”
David Pomfret, Principal and Chief Executive Officer at College of West Anglia, commented:
“Our colleges are responding to significant 16–18-year-old student numbers growth, particularly in areas key to economic growth, such as construction and engineering. To meet this demand, we urgently need a commitment to fund growth in 2025/26, as well as capital investment to create the extra space and specialist equipment needed”.
Paul Padda, Principal and Chief Executive Officer at East Coast College, commented:
“East Coast College continues to see real challenges in teacher recruitment and retention for the specialisms we deliver including health, maritime, engineering and energy. Without the ability to attract and retain highly skilled staff, colleges like ours will struggle to produce the skills and workforce needed to improve our health services and provide green energy for future generations to come.”
Dr Nikos Savvas, FCCT, Chief Executive Officer at Eastern Education Group, commented:
“The Prime Minister has outlined an ambitious plan to revitalise the country, addressing skills shortages as a key priority. At the core of this effort are our outstanding Further Education colleges, which play a critical role in equipping the workforce for construction, house building, major infrastructure projects, and the NHS.
“As a vital part of the public sector and the education system, FE colleges are central to solving the nation’s skills challenges. Given the specialised expertise of FE lecturers, it is only fitting that they receive pay parity with primary and secondary school teachers.”
Jerry White, Principal and Chief Executive Officer at City College Norwich, commented:
“Allowing colleges to reclaim the VAT, in the way state schools and sixth forms do, would provide a clear message that the Treasury understands the role of colleges as vital public sector organisations, equipping students and apprentices with the skills needed to drive economic growth.
“It is, frankly, absurd that a school sixth form can be funded to buy 20 new PCs to run a digital T Level course, but the FE college around the corner offering the same T Level to the same age group of students is only able to buy 16 PCs from the same funding, because it has to pay VAT.”