FE capital funding
An overview of capital funding for post-16 education providers, the type of funding available, what it can be used for and when to apply.
Applies to England
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 and Skills Funding 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 estate’s 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:
16-1916 to19 revenue funding (core programme funding)- adult education budget (allocated):
- adult skills
- community learning
- National Skills Fund -
Levellevel 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.
FE reclassification capital allocation
Eligible FE colleges, designated institutions and sixth-form colleges will receive a share of an additional £150 million in capital funding. This follows the reclassification of the FE sector.
What funding is available
See:
Where applicable, payments will go to:
- college groups
- designated institutions
- sixth-form colleges
ESFA will send grant agreement letters in March 2023. If you return these by 3 April 2023, we will make the payment in April 2023.
What can you spend it on
This funding should be spent on capital projects, prioritising condition improvement of the college’s estate.
The funding must be spent between 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2025.
How funding is calculated
The funding is allocated in proportion with the revenue funding your institution received in 2021 to 2022, relative to other colleges that were eligible for this allocation. This included the following revenue funding streams:
- 16 to 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
- sixth-form colleges
- 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 CIF also supports a small proportion of expansion projects. These are for academies, sixth-form colleges and VA schools 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
The FE capital transformation programme seeks 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.
T Levels capital fund
The T Levels capital fund is available to support providers with a 16 to 19 funding contract delivering T Levels courses with industry placements from September 2023.
What funding is available
Wave 5 of the T Levels capital fund is expected to be launched in autumn 2022.
Wave 4 of the T Levels capital fund is now closed for applications. We expect to announce successful applicants in July. This wave is worth over £150 million and is formed of 2 parts:
- a building and facilities improvement grant, which providers need to bid for
- a specialist equipment allocation, awarded to providers using a formula allocation
The specialist equipment allocation is usually paid early in the calendar year in which providers first deliver T Levels, to allow them time to procure equipment.
When to apply
The T Levels capital fund is currently closed for applications. We expect wave 5 to open for applications in autumn 2022.
Sign up for T Levels capital fund alerts to find out when the next stage of the fund is opening.
Previous allocations
A list of the successful applications for T Levels capital fund wave 3 is available.
Higher technical education skills injection fund
The skills injection fund was previously known as the higher technical education growth fund.
The fund will support providers to develop high-quality provision at levels 4 and 5, including higher technical qualifications.
What funding is available
The skills injection fund will provide additional funding for colleges and universities to invest in equipment and facilities that will support technical studies in key areas such as digital, construction and healthcare.
Up to £32 million of additional funding will be available through the skills injection fund for eligible providers.
When to apply
Further information will follow.
Strategic development fund
The strategic development fund provides capital and programme funding to support changes in local teaching and training facilities and provision.
It supports FE colleges across an area to upgrade their facilities, equipment and curriculum to better meet the needs of their local economy in preparation for the rollout of local skills improvement plans.
What funding is available
The fund consists of £92 million (£50 million capital funding and £42 million programme funding).
Each area may apply for up to £1.5 million capital funding and £1.25 million of programme funding.
When to apply
The strategic development fund is currently closed for applications.
Sign up for strategic development fund alerts to find out when the next stage of funding is opening.
Previous allocations
A list of the successful applicants appointed to pilot the strategic development fund and local skills improvement plans in 2021 to 2022 is available.
Institutes of Technology
Capital investment is to fund new-builds, refurbishments and specialist equipment. Institutes of Technology are collaborations between FE colleges, universities and employers, to offer higher technical education and training at higher skills levels in key science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) sectors such as digital, construction, advanced manufacturing and engineering, where employer demand is greatest.
What funding is available
The government is investing up to £290 million to provide the capital investment required to establish a comprehensive network of Institutes of Technology across England. The funding window is now closed.
Previous allocations
A list of the Institutes of Technology in operation and those currently in development is available.
Last updated
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'FE reclassification capital allocation' section has been added.
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'Additional FE funding for the 2022 to 2023 financial year' section has been added.
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The 'FE capital transformation programme' section has been updated to highlight that the next stage of the programme will be announced in winter 2022 to 2023. The 'Condition Improvement Fund' section has been updated to show that the 2023 to 2024 application round will close on 7 December 2022 and the funding outcomes will be announced in May 2023.
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Information on the next funding round for the post-16 capacity fund has been added.
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First published.