Department For Education
Overview
We allocate funding to allow providers to:
- upgrade college estates that are in an unsatisfactory condition
- get specialist equipment
- improve training facilities
- create extra capacity to accommodate increases in 16- to 18-year-old learners
Additional FE capital funding for the 2022 to 2023 financial year
Eligible further education (FE) colleges and designated institutions will receive an allocation from an additional 53 million of capital funding to improve energy efficiency in 2022 to 2023. This is part of an additional 500 million of capital funding for schools and FE institutions in England.
Sixth-form colleges and other institutions that are eligible for devolved formula capital in 2022 to 2023 are included in the additional school capital funding allocations.
What funding is available
See:
Payments will go to college groups or designated institutions, where applicable.
The Education andSkillsFunding Agency (ESFA) will send grant agreement letters. If you return these by 3 January 2023, we will make payments in January 2023.
What can you spend it on
You must spend this funding on capital projects, prioritising projects that improve your college estates energy efficiency. Where you judge this is not appropriate based on local circumstances, you have discretion to spend this on other capital projects.
We expect you to spend this funding in the 2022 to 2023 financial year. However, you can spend it over the following 2 financial years if necessary.
How funding is calculated
We based allocations on colleges and designated institutions ESFA revenue funding in 2021 to 2022. This included the following revenue funding streams:
- 16-19 revenue funding (core programme funding)
- adult education budget (allocated):
- adult skills
- community learning
- National Skills Fund - Level 3 offer
- 19 to 24 traineeships
- apprenticeships carry in
- 16 to 18 traineeships, including bursary funding
- advanced learning loans bursary
- adult education budget devolved data
We made adjustments so that FE colleges in devolved adult education budget areas receive their full allocation.
Condition Improvement Fund
The Condition Improvement Fund (CIF) is an annual bidding round for eligible academies, sixth-form colleges and voluntary-aided (VA) schools to apply for capital funding.
The priority for the fund is to address significant condition needs, keeping education provider buildings safe and in good working order. This includes funding projects to address:
- health and safety issues
- building compliance
- poor building conditions
The CIFalso supports a small proportion of expansion projects. These are for academies, sixth-form colleges andVAschools rated good or outstanding by Ofsted that can demonstrate a need to expand.
Eligibility is confirmed each year when the new application round opens.
What funding is available
Budgets are confirmed on an annual basis.
The most recent funding round, CIF 2022 to 2023, provided funding of 498 million for 1,405 projects at 1,129 academies, sixth-form colleges and VA schools.
When to apply
The closing date for the 2023 to 2024 CIF application round is Wednesday 7 December 2022. The funding outcomes will be announced in May 2023.
Sign up for Condition Improvement Fund alerts.
Previously funded projects
A list of projects funded in CIF 2022 to 2023 is available.
FE capital transformation programme
TheFE capital transformation programmeseeks to upgrade the FE college estate.
What funding is available
The FE capital transformation fund is providing 1.5 billion to colleges over 6 years ending in March 2026. To date, we have:
- provided a formulaic allocation of 200 million in autumn 2020 to support colleges to carry out immediate remedial projects
- identified 16 colleges with some of the worst-condition sites in the country, where we are working in partnership with the colleges to deliver their capital projects
- announced 62 colleges, and 78 projects, that were successful in the bidding process and will receive funding of up to 405 million
- announced a further 2 condition improvement projects where colleges are involved with ESFA specialist restructuring
When to apply
The FE capital transformation fund is currently closed for applications.
The next stage of the programme will be announced in winter 2022 to 2023.
Sign up for FE capital transformation fund alerts.
Previous allocations
A list of successful applications at stage 2 of bidding for the FE capital transformation fund is available.
Post-16 capacity fund
The post-16 capacity fund supports post-16 education providers to accommodate demographic increases in learners aged 16 to 19.
The fund is open to the following providers:
- general FE colleges
- sixth-form colleges
- local-authority-maintained schools with sixth forms
- specialist-designated institutions
- academies, including:
- 16 to 19 academies and free schools
- academies and free schools with sixth forms
- university technical colleges
- studio schools providing technical education
- maths schools
What funding is available
Qualifying post-16 providers can bid for a share of 140 million to deliver projects creating additional capacity from September 2024.
When to apply
The post-16 capacity fund closed for applications on 11 November 2022. It launched on 7 September 2022. We will announce the outcome of applications in spring 2023.
Previous allocations
A list of providers that made successful bids for post-16 capacity funding is available.