YPLA Funding Team

1. YPLA Funding Team YPLA Funding Guidance 2011/12 v1 – published July 2011ILR Funding Returns (separate presentations are also available on Learner Eligibility Guidance and Funding Regulations, Rates and Formula Championing Young People’s Learning

2. ILR Funding Returns(Version 1 published in July 2011) Championing Young People’s Learning

3. ILR Funding Returns • Every provider receiving any ILR learner responsive funding is required to return to the funding • Agency through the Data Service an ILR data return that includes the: • learner numbers, • SLN and the • associated generated total funding with reference to the 2011/12 YPLA funding allocation. • For 2011/12 the YPLA only requires the return of separate individual mid-year and year end • estimates from the following providers: • Contract Providers • HEI who do NOT make ILR returns to the Data Service • (those small number of Higher Education Institutions that return learner number data through HESA rather than ILR returns). • Any provider who fails to meet the Information Authority (IA) deadlines for R06 or R14 returns • will also need to return a funding estimate. For all other providers the YPLA will use the providers • R06 and R14 data as mid and year-end funding returns. • The final signed claim is still required from all providers for the reasons set out in Annex A • paragraphs 20 - 22. Championing Young People’s Learning

4. Deadline for Returns Championing Young People’s Learning

5. Explanatory Annexes in the Guidance Championing Young People’s Learning

6. Annex A – Purpose of Final Claim • Annex A of the Guidance provides Guidance for completing the 2011/12 ILR Funding Claim. • This includes: • calculation of funding; and • any relevant authorised manual adjustment. • Purpose of Final Claim • The purpose of the claim is to provide the YPLA with an assurance statement by the • relevant accounting officer over the regularity of the provider’s funding claim and ILR • data returns. This also enables the YPLA and the provider to have an agreed final out- • turn that enables comparison of out-turn to allocation on a provider, regional and • national basis. The final claim will also determine for all providers whether any funds • paid for 2011/12 will be adjusted for retrospective clawback adjustments. The YPLA • expects the overall total of cash claimed to be consistent with any financial provision • being made by the provider in its financial statements Championing Young People’s Learning

7. Final Claim Signature • The principal or head of the institution should sign all final claim forms. In the case of • higher education (HE) institutions, the person with equivalent responsibility for further • education (FE) in the institution should sign the final claim forms. Providers and • funding auditors are reminded that the final claim forms returned by the funding auditor • to the YPLA should contain an original signature, not a photocopy or facsimile. • The principal or head of the institution is required to certify that, to the best of his or • her knowledge, the funding claimed has been calculated from data correctly extracted • from the institution’s records, which accurately reflect enrolments during 2011/12, in • accordance with the guidance and definitions set out in the various documents that • make up Funding Guidance 2011/12 and other relevant guidance. Championing Young People’s Learning

8. ILR Funding Claim Championing Young People’s Learning

9. Annex E: Additional Information • The Funding Claim Report reporting code takes into account: • the split in funding responsibility between YPLA and Skills Funding Agency (SFA); • that the funding responsibility for learners aged 19-24 with significant ALS cost (above £5,500) needs remain with the YPLA for 2011/12; • learners who started programmes aged 18 in the first year of their programme but are aged 19 or over on the 31 August 2011 are usually the funding responsibility of the SFA for 2011/12 (unless they meet the criteria set out in (b) above or (d) below. • In addition from 2011/12 the funding responsibility for 19+ continuing learners at sixth form colleges (defined in c above) is with the YPLA and they are funded under the YPLA funding model • 2. The ILR fields used to determine into which part of the Funding Claim Report the learner and their funded cash appear is set out in Annex E (Table E1) . Championing Young People’s Learning

10. Annex E: Additional Informationsee page 26 Championing Young People’s Learning

11. Annex F: Additional Information • Notes • 4. The report calculates using the codes shown in Table E1 above. The notes at the bottom of Page 1 of the LIS report help explain the report and are also explained below: • ’Section C: ALS High Value Claims figure is excluded from all totals on this page. • This page includes all learners who have learner responsive funding and are identified in the ILR as YPLA funded. Any learners with ILR Field “source of funding”, the Funding Model set to 107 (16-18 learner responsive funding), but aged 19 or over on 31 August 2011 and hence coded (“source of funding” = 105) as SFA funded will not usually appear on this page but on the SFA Page of the report. • The rows labelled C include learners (“funding model” = 22) (who should be aged 19-24 on 31 August 2011) funded by the YPLA at the ALR funding model rates where field “source of funding” = 107. • For 2011/12 all learners with a Section 139A Learning Difficulty Assessment must have this recorded in ILR field “Learning funding and monitoring code” so the LDA reference is recorded as 1 as this will be part of the 2012/13 funding allocation process. • The Data Service has issued full guidance on the ILR Funding Claim Report within the LIS 2010/11 Report Guidance. This information will be available from: • http://www.thedataservice.org.uk/Services/DataCollection/software/ Championing Young People’s Learning

12. Annex E: Additional Information • ILR Data Recording Issues • 5. Providers are now required to update the data entry in ILR field “source of funding” and “funding model” appropriately for all continuing learners that change funding body responsibility for a later year of their programme. The ILR record at a learning aim level is for such learners different across the different funding years. • All LLDD learners aged 19-24 on 31 August 2011 and for whom the YPLA has agreed funding responsibility should be coded in “source of funding” as 107. • All 19+ continuing learners (those who started programmes whilst aged 16-18) in sixth form colleges and for whom the YPLA has agreed funding responsibility should be coded in “source of funding” as 107. • 8 All other learners aged 19 or over on 31 August 2011 should be coded in “source of funding” as 105. Championing Young People’s Learning

13. Annex E: Additional Information • ILR Data Recording Issues • 9 Providers must avoid in R04 returns incorrectly coded learners who are aged • 19 or over on 31 August 2011 (and that are not agreed YPLA funded 19-24 LLDD learners) as YPLA funded (“source of funding” =107). These learners are not eligible to be funded by the YPLA and should be included in all data and funding returns as SFA funded learners (“source of funding” =105). All such errors must be corrected before any R04 and later data returns are made to the Data Service. • 10 The YPLA will exclude any of these learners (under YPLA internal ILR analysis) from the lagged learner numbers used for the 2012/13 allocation process. Championing Young People’s Learning

14. Funding Reconciliation 2011/12 Championing Young People’s Learning

15. Tolerance Principles & VfM • The YPLA tolerance arrangements for Contract Providers have been agreed to recognise that minor shortfalls in learner recruitment do not incur financial penalties that are disproportionate to any financial saving providers make from such shortfalls. • Tolerance arrangements need to meet requirement to safeguard public funding, especially where it is transferring to the private sector, and obtain as much Value for Money (VfM). • It is however important that providers who significantly under deliver their allocations are identified as early in the year as possible so funding resources can be redeployed within the system. • Providers targets for each year remain their whole allocation and providers who identify tolerance limits as their targets jeopardise both their own future funding and the funding body arguments in favour of tolerance in the future. • It is important that revisions to mid-year allocation for 2011/12 (Spring/Summer 2012) are processed as early as possible to support the above principles. • In previous years the YPLA has been required to return all final post-year clawback to DfE (Treasury). • The tolerance limits for 2010/11 have been carried over for 2011/12 but providers are expected to deliver at least 100% of their allocation each year and any tolerance limits for 2012/13 will be reviewed for any contract providers who have significantly benefited from previous tolerances. Championing Young People’s Learning

16. Grant Funded Providers • Grant funded Providers are not subject to reconciliation BUT are still • required to make the necessary funding returns. Providers are • expected to deliver their allocation every year. • Reference paragraph 29 (repeated below). • Providers are reminded that they are still expected to deliver at least • 100 per cent of their funding agreements in every funding year. The YPLA • will be reviewing provider performance for previous years with the intention • of ensuring that provider allocations are soundly based across funding • years. Providers are reminded that tolerance and non- reconciliation of • YPLA funding is not designed to reward persistent underperformance. The YPLA will review tolerance limits for 2012/13 for any contract providers who significantly benefit from the tolerances in both 2010/11 and 2011/12. Championing Young People’s Learning

17. Contract Funded Providers • Contract funded Providers ARE subject to reconciliation set out in paragraph 28: • Learner numbers are the key indicator of performance and have a direct • effect on both the current year’s performance and future allocation. The • principles of contract provider funding adjustment and final reconciliation for • 2011/12 are: • In-year payments are made on profile as is planned for the 16-18 learner responsive model; • in-year delivery of learner numbers (and thereby cash) is reviewed during the year and where delivery falls below an agreed tolerance, action is taken to adjust the profile for the remainder of the year; • all final funding variances (both in terms of learner numbers and cash) are calculated by comparing each individual provider (subject only to the final bullet point below) total whole year delivery with their final funding allocation as paid for the year; • for the purposes of all final reconciliation calculations the YPLA will moderate the reconciliation cash recovery (clawback) for contract providers according to which of the criteria set out below has been met: • that providers whose funding contract is subject to regional schedules will be reconciled by comparing total regional delivery with the regional allocation paid for the year. Championing Young People’s Learning

18. Contract Funded Providers • Paragraph 28 continued…. • (ii) For providers who have delivered at least 95% of their learner number • target a cash tolerance of 10% of the programme allocation will be allowed • when comparing total programme cash delivered against the total cash • programme allocation. In such cases all the cash not delivered below 90% of • the allocation will be recovered as retrospective clawback. • (iii) For providers who have not delivered at least 95% of their learner number • target a cash tolerance of 5% of the programme allocation will be allowed • when comparing total programme cash delivered against the total cash • programme allocation. In such cases all the cash not delivered below 95% of • the allocation will be recovered as retrospective clawback. Championing Young People’s Learning

19. Contract Funded Providers • Paragraph 28 continued…. • (iv) In calculating any final clawback the YPLA will adopt the principle that • providers are not significantly disadvantaged at the final reconciliation • process because of any reductions to in-year funding. This principle will be • built into the national final reconciliation calculation system. • But note caveat (point i) in the paragraph in respect of providers with regional • schedules • (i) For providers with funding contracts subject to regional schedules these • rules are applied at a regional level. Championing Young People’s Learning

20. Annex D: Part 2Contract Provider ReconciliationExamples 1-7 (from the rules set out in paragraph 28) Championing Young People’s Learning

21. Examples 1 & 2 Championing Young People’s Learning

22. Examples 3 & 4 Championing Young People’s Learning

23. Examples 5, 6 and 7 Championing Young People’s Learning

24. YPLA Funding Team YPLA Funding Guidance 2011/12 v1 – published July 2011ILR Funding Returns (separate presentations are also available on Learner Eligibility Guidance and Funding Regulations, Rates and Formula Championing Young People’s Learning