Non-devolved Adult Education Budget (AEB) Funding

Firstly, a hearty congrats to the AEB Winners announced publicly yesterday. Some of the bigger winners I would regard as friends and therefore extra special congratulations and a warm handshake to you.

It’s not quite the Pareto principle but it seems like 50% of the funding allocated is to be delivered by around 20% of the providers.

It’s taken quite a few of us by surprise, which was likely to be the case as there isn’t enough money around for this important funding stream. Therefore, some worthy providers have had to go back to the drawing board and others who have a nice problem on their hands are mobilising and will be burning the candle at both ends. Then they are previous holders of this funding who have dodged a bullet as only a fifth of them have kept an allocation and therefore will be thanking their lucky stars and will carry on in similar vein as before.

The reality is that lot of people do bid for this type of funding as it really is cream of the crop in funding terms and therefore competition and activity are always at a different scale, some providers forgive me are chasing rainbows, but many can deliver or have been delivering effectively and now have been somewhat stopped in their tracks.

As it happens a few of us knew who beforehand some of the awarded providers were and shockingly some of the absentees. My best thoughts to all of those that didn’t get through. We ourselves are in the same boat and I don’t have all the answers but have full faith that it will work out for the best. “Keep calm and carry on”.