
Training providers delivering publicly funded adult education in England operate under complex funding, reporting, and inspection rules. This guide provides a practical compliance reference for providers, compliance officers, and quality teams.
Publicly funded training providers in England face overlapping compliance requirements from multiple regulatory bodies. The funding landscape shifted significantly in 2024-2025, with the Adult Education Budget (AEB) replaced by the Adult Skills Fund (ASF), the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) closed and its functions transferred to the Department for Education (DfE), and Ofsted introducing a renewed Education Inspection Framework from November 2025.
For providers operating across devolved and non-devolved areas, the complexity increases further. Approximately 60% of adult skills funding is now devolved to Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), each with their own commissioning arrangements and funding rules.
This hub article provides an overview of the key compliance areas and links to detailed spoke articles covering each regulatory framework in depth.
Training providers delivering adult education in England must navigate requirements from several bodies.
The practical challenge for providers is that compliance requires alignment across all these frameworks simultaneously. A learner record error in the ILR can trigger funding clawback. An Ofsted inspection finding can affect future contract allocations. A qualification that loses Ofqual approval mid-year creates immediate delivery issues.
The Adult Skills Fund replaced the Adult Education Budget from the 2024-2025 academic year. The core compliance requirements include learner eligibility verification, funding rate application, evidence retention, and adherence to subcontracting rules.
Providers must verify learner residency using the devolution postcode dataset to determine whether funding comes from DfE (for non-devolved areas) or from the relevant MCA. Statutory entitlements for English, maths, digital skills, and first full qualifications at levels 2 and 3 must be fully funded for eligible learners.
For detailed ASF compliance guidance, see Adult Skills Fund Compliance for Training Providers in England.
Secure funding and inspection outcomes by aligning ASF eligibility checks, Ofsted evidence frameworks, and ILR data accuracy. Weakness in any area increases audit risk, funding recovery, and performance intervention exposure.
The renewed Education Inspection Framework introduced in November 2025 replaces single overall effectiveness grades with a report card format. Providers receive graded evaluations across multiple areas including curriculum, teaching quality, achievement, inclusion, leadership, and safeguarding.
Inspections now assess providers on their contribution to meeting local skills needs, with reference to Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). The emphasis has shifted toward continuous improvement and self-evaluation rather than inspection as a one-off event.
For detailed Ofsted preparation guidance, see Ofsted Inspection Readiness for FE and Training Providers.
The Individualised Learner Record remains the primary mechanism for collecting learner data in the further education and skills sector. Providers must submit monthly ILR returns through the Submit Learner Data service, with data used to calculate funding, monitor performance, and support national statistics.
Accurate ILR data is essential for funding claims. Errors can result in funding adjustments, audit findings, and performance management interventions. The Provider Data Self-Assessment Toolkit (PDSAT) helps providers identify potential data errors before submission.
For detailed ILR guidance, see ILR Compliance and Data Quality for Training Providers.
For providers working with learners in devolved areas, compliance requires understanding individual MCA funding rules. While many MCAs adopt DfE national rates, some set different priorities, funding rates, or eligibility criteria.
The current devolved authorities with adult skills funding responsibility include Greater London Authority, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, West Midlands Combined Authority, Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, Tees Valley Combined Authority, North of Tyne Combined Authority, and North East Mayoral Combined Authority.
Additional areas including East Midlands, York and North Yorkshire, and Cornwall have received or are receiving devolved adult education functions from 2025.
For detailed devolution guidance, see Devolved Adult Skills Funding: MCA Compliance Guide.
Training providers should plan compliance activities around the academic and funding year cycles.
Effective compliance requires systematic evidence management. Providers should maintain documentation in several categories.
The principle of "evidenced in practice" applies across all areas. Inspectors and auditors look for documentation that reflects actual delivery rather than aspirational policies that are not implemented.
Analysis of audit findings and inspection outcomes reveals recurring compliance issues across the sector.
Training providers use Yotru to support several compliance-related functions.
For providers seeking to improve learner job outcomes, integrated employability support strengthens both compliance positioning and actual learner results.

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Employability Systems & Applied Research
Team Yotru
Employability Systems & Applied Research
We build career tools informed by years working in workforce development, employability programs, and education technology. We work with training providers and workforce organizations to create practical tools for employment and retraining programs—combining labor market insights with real-world application to support effective career development. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Training providers delivering publicly funded adult education in England must comply with Adult Skills Fund funding rules, Ofsted inspection requirements, and ILR data submission standards. Providers must verify learner eligibility, maintain accurate records, submit monthly ILR returns, and retain evidence that supports funding claims. For learners in devolved areas, providers must also follow the relevant Mayoral Combined Authority's funding and performance management rules.
This article is written for training providers, FE colleges, and compliance professionals delivering publicly funded adult education in England. It provides practical guidance on regulatory requirements and audit readiness.
Yotru content prioritizes accuracy, neutrality, and practical application. All regulatory references are verified against official sources. Articles are updated as frameworks change.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or regulatory advice. Providers should verify current requirements with relevant funding bodies. Individual circumstances may vary.
Detailed Compliance Guides
Yotru Platform Resources
West Midlands
Greater Manchester
Greater London
West Yorkshire
Liverpool City Region
Department for Education. (2025). Adult skills fund: funding rules for 2025 to 2026. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-skills-fund-funding-rules
Department for Education. (2025). 2025 to 2026 devolution postcode dataset guidance. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-skills-fund-asf-postcode-files
Ofsted. (2025). Education inspection framework: for use from November 2025. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/education-inspection-framework
Department for Education. (2025). Individualised Learner Record (ILR) technical documents. GOV.UK. https://guidance.submit-learner-data.service.gov.uk/
Department for Education. (2024). Adult skills fund (ASF) devolution. GOV.UK. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/adult-education-budget-devolution
House of Commons Library. (2025). Further education funding in England. https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9194/
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