19+ funding allocations

About this guidance

The The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is is accountable for funding education and skills for children, young people and adults.

We use this page to explain how we allocate funding for:

• ESFA adult adult skills funding (ASF)
• advanced learner loans facilities and bursaries
• apprenticeships carry-in and apprenticeship non-levy extensions

We will publish information and updates to this page as they become available. 

We will issue all allocations through the the manage your education and skills funding service.

National traineeships programme

The last start date for traineeships under the current programme was 31 July 2023. Traineeships started on or before this date will continue to be funded.

Read the written ministerial statement on the skills update from the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education.

How we calculate allocations

We confirm the approach used for calculating allocations when we issue the allocations. Each year, we aim to start communicating the allocations by the end of March. We calculate allocations on an annual basis using nationally consistent methodologies, taking into account the current policy position and affordability.

The general principles we typically follow at present when setting allocations are to:

• reflect historic (lagged) delivery and current allocations to ensure that future allocations are in line with what providers can realistically earn
• ensure that we treat all providers fairly and equitably
• protect public funds and meet principles of public law
• enable providers to respond to government priorities

We are reviewing the approach to allocations for future years as part of our wider funding and accountability reforms.

19+ funding for academic year 20252024 to 20262025

We explain the allocation methodologies and data sources we use to calculate calculate ESFA funded funded allocations for the 20252024 to 20262025 funding year in the the 19+ allocations technical guidance. We publish information in this guidance as we issue funding allocations.

We aim to publish calculators in April to help you understand your allocation value.

You can find information on previous years’ allocation methodologies in the the technical guide section.

Allocation timeline

We will publish updates to the timeline as we make progress on delivering allocations for 20252024 to 2026.2025.

Please read the latest news column on the timeline and our our ESFA Update Update for for regular updates.

Month	Activity	Latest news
July/August	February 2024	We will issue 2024 to 2025 funding agreements/contracts to providers. Providers must digitally sign agreements/contracts on manage your education and skills funding.
October 2024	This is the individualised learner record (ILR) R14 deadline. We use this to calculate additional funding in line with the extra ASF review published in the ASF funding rules.
December 2024	This is the ILR R04 deadline. We use this to calculate procured non-levy apprenticeship allocations for 2025 to 2026.
December 2024	We aim to issue the final values for ASF (non procured) continuing learners following the completion of the 2023 to 2024 funding year.
February 2025	We will issue apprenticeships non-levy extension contracts (for the 20252024 to 20262025 financial year) through through manage your education and skills funding.funding .	We have issued the contracts.
	March 20252024	Providers must sign their apprenticeships non-levy extension contracts by 28 March 2025,2024, otherwise they will expire.	This deadline has now passed.
	March 20252024	We aim to start issuing issuing ESFA funded ASF, funded ASF contractand for services and advanced learner loans allocations for the 20252024 to 20262025 funding year through manage your education and skills funding.funding .	We issued these allocations on 21 March.
	March 20252024	We will publish guidance to support allocations including calculators and business case forms.	We have published technical guidance, advanced learner loans calculator and business case form guidance. We have emailed adult skills fund calculators to providers.
	March 20252024	The business case deadline for apprenticeships non-levy extensions is 28 March 2025.2024. This is to address significant R04 data errors that have affected the allocation we have calculated for you. It is not an opportunity to request growth.	This deadline has now passed.
	April 20252024	The business case deadline for for ESFA funded  funded ASF and and advanced learner loans allocations is 3028 April 2025.2024. This is to fix significant data errors. It is not an opportunity to request growth.	This deadline has now passed.
	June 20252024	56 June 20252024 is the R10 data return deadline. It is important that providers with apprenticeship carry-in or traineeship allocations submit accurate data as we will use this data to set 20252024 to 2025 allocations.	This deadline has now passed.
	June 20252024	We will communicate the outcomes of of ESFA funded  funded ASF, advanced learner loans and apprenticeship non-levy business cases.	We communicated these business case outcomes on 20 June.
June 2024	JulyWe 2025will issue ESFA adult skills fund contract for services (procured from 2023) through manage your education and skills funding.	We issued these allocations on 19 June.
July 2024	We will issue apprenticeship carry-in through manage your education and skills funding.funding .	We issued these allocations on 10 July.
July/August 2024	We will issue funding agreements/contracts to providers. Providers must digitally sign agreements/contracts on manage your education and skills funding.	We have issued funding agreements/contracts to all providers.
December 2024	This is the ILR R04 deadline. We use this to calculate procured non-levy apprenticeship allocations for 2025 to 2026.

Business cases

When to submit a business case

You should only submit business cases if:

• you have made significant data errors that have affected your funding allocation
• you had a contract value for the 20242023 to 20252024 funding year but did not use it and, therefore, you have not received a 20252024 to 20262025 allocation

The deadline to submit a business case is 28 March for apprenticeships non-levy (procured).(procured) and 28 April 2024 for advanced learner loans and ESFA adult skills fund.

When not to submit a case

We do not accept requests for growth or cases that are not related to data errors.

How to submit a case

Please use our online digital business case form to submit your request. The form will be open from 7 February 2025.

WeA havelink alsoto publishedthe digitalform business case guidance to supportis youalso submittingavailable within the digital business case form.

Thresholds for business cases

We apply standard minimum thresholds to decide whether we will consider a case.

For cases where you had contract value for the 20242023 to 20252024 funding year but did not receive a 20252024 to 20262025 allocation, you will receive a letter to inform you that:

• the maximum you can request is £25,000 or your current contract value, whichever is lower

For cases where you have made significant data errors that have affected your funding allocation:

• the minimum overall impact must be more than 5% of allocation

When you will receive a response

We aim to communicate the outcomes in June 20252024 via Document exchange.

Contact us

If you have questions after reading our guidance, or if there’s anything else you need help with, you can find more support in our customer help centre.

Technical guidance

• 19+ funding allocation guidance for 2025 to 2026
• 19+ funding allocation guidance for 2024 to 2025
• 19+ funding allocation guidance for 2023 to 2024

Funding rules, rates and formula

• ESFA: funding rules, rates and formula

Published allocations

• 2024 to 2025 funding allocations to training providers
• 2022 to 2023 funding allocations to training providers
• 2021 to 2022 funding allocations to training providers
• 2020 to 2021 funding allocations to training providers
• 2019 to 2020 funding allocations to training providers
• 2018 to 2019 funding allocations to training providers
• 2017 to 2018 funding allocations to training providers
• 2016 to 2017 funding allocations to training providers
• 2015 to 2016 funding allocations to training providers
• 2014 to 2015 funding allocations to training providers
• 2013 to 2014 funding allocations to training providers
• 2005 to 2013 funding allocations to training providers