The Learning and Skills Councils Annual Report and Accounts for ...

Table 3: Position of FE colleges in 2008–09 academic year (£5,835 million grant funding)
(2007–08 academic year: £5,656 million)
Due Received Outstanding
Audited final funding claims 75 75 –
Financial statements 359 358 1
Final regularity opinions 359 358 1
Notes
One college has both its financial statements and regularity opinion outstanding. This college is being
and will continue to be pursued by the Skills Funding Agency.
Funding audits for 2008–09 were carried out at three other FE providers, all of which resulted in
clean opinions, together with seven follow-up visits of the 2007–08 funding audits. The followup
visits were carried out to ensure that these providers had taken appropriate action to address
weaknesses identified during their 2007–08 funding audits. A total of £228 million (2008–09:
£249 million) was received by the other FE providers.
Ufi Ltd
Throughout 2009–10 the responsibility
for the audit of learndirect activity
rested with Ufi Ltd. Ufi Ltd had
established an adequate assurance
framework on which the LSC placed
reliance. The National Office Provider
Financial Assurance (NOPFA) audit
team monitored and quality assured
the outcomes of Ufi Ltd’s assurance
work in respect of Adult Responsive
funding. The Yorkshire and Humberside
Regional Provider Financial Assurance
team carried out direct assurance
work on Ufi Ltd’s Employer Responsive
provision. Ufi Ltd was also subject to
regularity auditing in conjunction with
their financial statements auditing in
the same manner as at FE colleges.
4b Adult safeguarded learning
The LSC paid £195 million (2008–09:
£249 million) for ASL to LAs in England
in the financial year 2009–10. Four
months of this relates to the academic
year ending 31 July 2009 and eight
months relates to the academic year
ending 31 July 2010.
The LA funding and expenditure
statements over the use of ASL were
self-certified by LA finance directors,
and then these were submitted to the
regional PFA teams of the LSC, who
carried out a 100 per cent review of
them. The results of these reviews
were communicated to partnership
directors at the LSC’s area offices, for
follow-up and action, as appropriate.
For the year ending 31 July 2009, 147
LAs that received funding in the period
have submitted their self-certified use
of ASL funding statements to the LSC.
4c School sixth forms
The LSC paid LAs £2,201 million
(2008–09: £2,113 million) for school
sixth forms in the financial year
2009–10. Four months of this relates
to the 12-month period ending 31 July
2009. Eight months relates to the
academic year ending 31 July 2010.
During 2009–10 all schools were
required to make two returns to
DCSF through LAs, in November and
May. The LSC calculated funding for
each school sixth form in the year
ending 31 July 2010 using data from
the autumn 2008 return and pupil
numbers per the autumn 2008 census
learner numbers count. Autumn
2008 pupil census data was audited
in summer 2009 at a sample of
301 schools.
4d Education Maintenance Allowance
(EMA)
EMA expenditure was £588 million in
the financial year 2009–10 (2008–09:
£532 million). The LSC undertook a
rolling programme of work to provide
assurance on the EMA expenditure it
had incurred over the course of the
financial year.
Assurance was obtained through direct
audit work carried out by the NOPFA
team on the contractor responsible
for processing and paying EMA
applications. Further direct assurance
work took place at colleges and
learning providers by the nine regional
audit teams, or by placing reliance
on the work of externally contracted
auditors. The results of the assurance
work completed in the financial year
2009–10 raised no concerns over the
use of funds in that year.
The NOPFA team was also responsible
for delivering and managing the
assurance work on other Learner
Support funds, e.g. Adult Learning
Grants. The NOPFA team carried out
some of this assurance work directly,
and further work was undertaken by
other auditors.
Assurance on contracts
Note 3a of these financial statements
includes payments made in respect of
programmes such as Apprenticeships,
Train to Gain and ESF. The LSC’s
regional audit teams delivered
assurance over learning providers’
use of funds based on audit plans
which had been approved by the
LSC’s Regional Audit Committees.
Coverage of providers and funding
streams was dependent on a detailed
risk assessment, and audits took place
on a cyclical basis. Where audit teams
identified funds at risk, the LSC had
taken action to recover funding.
Finance
LSC Annual Report and Accounts 2009–10 61