By Neil Merrick
An independent review has strongly criticised the government for ignoring a looming crisis over the modernisation of further education colleges in England.
An independent review has strongly criticised the government for ignoring a looming crisis over the modernisation of further education colleges in England.Last year’s collapse of the Building Colleges for the Future programme, which left 144 colleges in limbo, was ‘predictable and probably avoidable’, a review by Sir Andrew Foster concluded.
Foster, a former controller of the Audit Commission, said the blame lay with both the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Learning and Skills Council.
While LSC management was at fault, senior Dius officials could have probed projections more deeply and uncovered ‘ongoing flaws’ in implementing the policy , said the April 1 review.
Warnings of overheating were evident as early as February 2008 but, said Foster, there was ‘delay and confusion in addressing them’. Once a moratorium on projects was announced in December, this was not communicated properly to the sector.
‘At the heart of the problem is the absence of a proper long-term financial strategy and inadequate management, information and monitoring,’ Foster said.
Since the programme was launched in 2005/06, 330 colleges have received £2.7bn towards new buildings. But following a surge in applications last year, the LSC faces an estimated £5.7bn backlog.
Martin Doel, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said Foster’s report had revealed ‘mismanagement on an astonishing scale’. Colleges that had invested heavily in preparing schemes should be indemnified against any losses, he added.
Foster, who led a major review into FE five years ago, said college principals should help officials from the LSC and Dius to assess projects already in the pipeline. He also called on the Treasury to pump more money into FE buildings.
Skills minister John Denham said the government accepted Foster's recommendations in full and acknowleged that Dius should scrutinise arm's-length bodies such as the LSC more effectively.
Ian Watmore, the permanent secretary at Dius, would review its relations with non-departmental public bodies to ensure there was ‘clarity about accountability and responsibility’, said Denham.
