Information for ESF providers

Please check out the link for Employment and Skills COVID-19 Guidance and Frequently asked Questions 

In August 2019 the GLA's Skills and Employment Unit launched the Adult Education Budget (AEB) Procured provision.

The AEB Procured budget is being used by the GLA to match fund ESF projects for The Mayor’s 2019-23 ESF programme, therefore the AEB Procured provision is considered as a single co-funded programme of activity.

The Managing Authority who governs both the GLA activities and ESF programmes in London, mandates that the AEB Procured provision is compliant with ESF requirements and will be subject to same external audit standards.

For more information on the Adult Education Budget and AEB Procured provision, please click the link for Information for AEB Providers page.

GLA Ops is the central corporate system used by the GLA to manage its projects. GLA Ops has been developed to support performance management, and grant and contract payments associated with the AEB programme. For more information please click the link for the GLA Systems Induction Workshop Presentation.

Please find below the Skills and Employment Unit's ESF Co-Financing Policies and Implementation Plans:  

• Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities Policy
• Sustainable Development Policy
• Gender Equality and Equal Opportunities Implementation
• Sustainable Development Implementation Plan 

For all ESF projects, please click the link for the information on how to use the FileCloud system.

For all ESF 2019 – 23 projects, please click the link for guidance on how to process a project claim.

The following clarifications were published on 28 January 2021. If you have any further queries, please contact your GLA Provider Manager directly. 

Clarification: Basic Skills definition 

“Has Basic Skills upon joining”.
 
We have had confirmation that the definition we should be working to is the one in the Output and Results Indicator guidance (O6) i.e.:
 
“This programme-specific output indicator relates to participants who do not have entry level, level 1 or level 2 in English, maths or ESOL (where appropriate) at the time they join the ESF operation.”

Therefore, a learner who has not achieved a minimum of Level 2 in Maths and English (or ESOL) on starting should be interpreted as NOT having basic skills on joining. A learner who has Level 2 or higher in Maths and English (or ESOL) should be interpreted as having basic skills on joining. If the learner does not have a qualification, the learner’s skill levels should be determined through a basic skills assessment.

ESF Result of “Gained Basic Skills”

A learner may be counted as having “Gained Basic Skills” if, through their learning programme, they have gained a basic skills qualification that they did not have on starting and that results in an increase in their level of basic skills compared to their level on starting.
 
The qualification achieved can be at Entry Level as long as the Entry Level gained is higher than the participant’s original Entry Level. For example a learner that had Entry Level 2 in Maths and Entry Level 1 in English on starting, who had achieved an Entry Level 2 in English as of their ESF Leave Date would have ‘Gained  Basic Skills’ even though they had not attained the highest Entry Level or higher than Entry Level. However, a learner that had Entry Level 2 in Maths and Entry Level 2 in ESOL on starting, who had achieved an Entry Level 2 in English as of their ESF Leave Date would not have ‘Gained  Basic Skills’ because this would not be considered to constitute an improvement in their literacy basic skills.

In summary, basic skills cover up to (and including) Level 2 in English, Maths or ESOL whether we are referring to an output or to a result. If an individual does not have a level 2 on starting in one (or more) of the above, they would be lacking basic skills. If they gained a qualification at a higher level than they started in that same subject, up to and including level 2, they would have gained a basic skill. For example, if a learner has English or ESOL at L2, but only has L1 in Maths, the learner could gain a basic skill in relation to their maths but would not meet the criteria for either lacking basic skills or for gaining them with regards to their English/ESOL as they had a level 2 on starting. If a participant is lacking both English and maths at level 2, but gained a higher level than they started in one or the other (up to/including level 2), it would count as having gained a basic skill – it doesn’t have to be progress in both areas.

Changes to the Eligibility of European Economic Area Nationals (EEA) for ESF Support from 1 January 2021

New ESF National Eligibility Rules and Programme Guidance has been released, as well as an action note on the eligibility of EEA nationals, which include updates on how migrants, refugees and asylum seekers may be impacted from 1 January 2021. You are encouraged to review these documents. 

The key messages are that:

• All EEA nationals in the UK before 31 December 2020 must
  • hold settled status granted under the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS), or
  • hold pre-settled status granted under the EUSS.
• However, EEA nationals legally resident in the UK before 31 December 2020 will have the current eligibility rules extended to 30 June 2021 to apply for the EUSS and have their status confirmed.
• EEA nationals arriving from 1 January 2021 and all Non-EEA national must have leave to remain with permission to work granted under the new Points Based Immigration system to be eligible.

Please click the link for full guidance.

Clarification: 14-hours Direct Delivery

In some cases there is a requirement for 14 hours of Direct Delivery for Entry to Employment/Progression payments while in others this forms part of our quality monitoring criteria. 

We understand that there may be some confusion regarding what this could include and wanted to clarify the types of activities that we consider may be counted towards this requirement. 

The 14 hours of Direct Delivery may include:

• Training hours delivered by the delivery partner (provided there is no double-funding with other projects or training).
• The participant’s own study/activity hours on Bespoke Training Plan activities if there is evidence of these having taken place (e.g. recorded during 1:1s between a caseworker and participant).
• People receiving support with any Bespoke Training Plan activities which are continuing post-entry during the sustained period.

We accept that from time to time there may be a participant who does not need 14 hours’ support. We would expect these examples to be exceptions not the norm and where there is a strong case provided to your GLA Provider Manager, we will be willing to consider them on a case by case basis. The rationale for not having 14 hours of support from the project will need to be clear and may not be accepted unless there is clear evidence that the participant needed the project support on offer and was not ready to enter a job or further training upon enrolling. 

Clarification: Economic Status requirements 

It is fundamental that all delivery partners are able to evidence that they have followed each step of the Methodology for obtaining evidence, for each participant, and how they have done this. 

Here is a reminder of the Methodology for obtaining evidence, along with some guidance of each stage:

Step 1: identify the eligibility criteria to be evidenced 
As detailed in the guidance, it is important to establish what target group you need to evidence. 

Step 2: Request items from the preferred list of evidence
It is imperative that you follow the methodology in order and set out how you have explored the evidence available at each stage. It is recognised by the GLA that not all participants will have the evidence set out in the preferred list nevertheless the GLA will expect to see the evidence of how you, as the Delivery Partner reviewed this with the participant, inclusive of detailed viable reasons as to why this was unavailable. 

Step 3: if no preferred evidence is available, consider credible alternative documents

• If credible evidence is secured it is essential that the following is documented: 
  • reasons why the Participant does not have any preferred evidence available and confirmation that credible and plausible reasons have been provided and are acceptable
  • explain why the alternative items provide persuasive evidence that the Participant meets the criteria
  • alternative evidence might also include a written and signed record of the initial recruitment interview covering the individual’s eligibility / circumstances / lifestyle and signed by both parties. Such a signed record when combined with a self-declaration (and ideally any other additional alternative evidence) is always preferable to a self-declaration on its own.

Once again, the GLA will expect to see evidence that you, as the Delivery Partner have tried to explore other credible methods of evidence. 

Step 4: if no alternative documents, consider whether an exception to the evidence requirements can be justified*

• It is required that where no reasonable evidence has been secured in steps 2 and 3 that the Delivery Partner clearly documents their justification for allowing the Participants to access the project: 
  • Reasons why Participant does not have any preferred or alternative evidence available.
  • Document how the beneficiary / you have attempted to collect the required evidence.
  • Explain how / why you are satisfied that the reasons provided by Participant are credible / plausible.
  • A properly signed self-declaration will also be required if the project believes the Participant should still be supported.
• If there is no case to justify an exception, then the individual will not qualify for ESF support.

Where a participant has been granted access to the project, the GLA would expect to see a comprehensive breakdown of barriers demonstrating how the participant is disadvantaged in the labour market and how the project will provide support to overcome these barriers. Ultimately the risk of placing a participant onto an ESF project without the required evidence, is the Delivery Partner’s and the inclusion of all participants should be justified with clear evidence on file. 

The following clarifications were published on 01 October 2021. If you have any further queries, please contact your GLA Provider Manager directly.  

The GLA have been informed that the Home Office are currently issuing 'Leave outside of the Rules' documentation which can be used as step 2 evidence along with this GLA guidance until such time as the Home Office commence issuing step 1 evidence in the form of Biometric Residence Permits. Evidence of the confirmation of Home Office documentation has been received from DfE and will be retained by the GLA

The following clarifications were published on 21 September 2021. If you have any further queries, please contact your GLA Provider Manager directly. 

 The Afghanistan resettlement document outlines the three main routes through which Afghan Citizens will resettle in the UK. It provides guidance on associated eligibility for GLA ESF co-financed provision.