What is our relationship with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the organisations we fund?
We work at a ‘short arm’s length’ from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, which allows a fast and effective response to policy, while reinforcing the autonomy of the further education sector. We allocate funding to colleges and providers who have discretion over expenditure to meet the needs of local businesses and communities. We apply funding policy fairly, consistently and professionally on a national basis. The Skills Funding Agency is open and accountable and communicates regularly with stakeholders about the decisions we have taken, about our performance against objectives and about how we spend. We are part of a new skills family with the Young People’s Learning Agency, the National Apprenticeship Service, the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, with shared services. This partnership is designed to ensure that training is funded and promoted in order to meet the needs of employers, employees and learners, and to devel
