The Chair of the National Assembly for Wales’s Public Accounts Committee, Nick Ramsay AM, has issued the following statement in response to the Wales Audit Office report, ‘Welsh Government oversight of further-education colleges' finances and delivery’.
Mr Ramsay said:
“The further-education sector has a significant role to play in enabling young people and adults to fulfil their potential and in delivering a skilled workforce.
“It is, therefore, important that our further education colleges are financially viable and performing well.
“The sector has shown resilience in response to recent reductions in Welsh Government funding, sustaining its academic performance while keeping its finances under control.
“But this has come at a significant cost, with the withdrawal of much part-time provision and a loss of experienced staff.
“Changing demand, changing policy and rising costs present significant challenges for colleges’ future sustainability as part of the wider system of post-16 education in Wales.
"The Public Accounts Committee will be considering the Auditor General’s report, and the Welsh Government’s response to the Auditor General’s recommendations, in more detail shortly.”