Updated February 2026
From the 1st August 2019 the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is no longer accountable for the totality of the Adult Skills Fund (ASF). Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs), the Greater London Authority (GLA) and strategic authorities have responsibility for funding adult education in their local areas, giving greater powers and flexibility to local areas and their adult residents.
The devolved areas have their own Funding and Performance Management rules, which can be accessed via each combined authority’s ASF webpage. There is also a separate section below for Combined County Authorities:
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
Adult Education Budget | CPCA | The Combined Authority
Greater London Authority
Information for Adult Skills Fund providers | London City Hall
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Adult Skills Fund – Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Adult Education Budget | Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
North East Combined Authority
South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Adult Education Budget provider information – South Yorkshire MCA
Tees Valley Combined Authority
West Midlands Combined Authority
West of England Combined Authority
West of England Combined Authority Adult Education
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
West Yorkshire Combined Authority
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
Adult Skills Fund in York and North Yorkshire
Combined County Authorities
East Midlands Combined County Authority
Adult Skills Fund – East Midlands Combined County Authority
Lancashire Combined Authority
ASF-Strategy-and-Commissioning-Plan-new.pdf
Cornwall Single Local Authority
Cornwall Council ASF Funding and Performance Management Rules 2025-26
This means that the Department for Education (DfE) is no longer accountable for administering ASF in these areas.