Subcontractor Register
2011/12 Subcontracting Register - as at 10 January 2012
Background
The Skills Funding Agency’s remit is to fund and regulate further education and skills training in England for learners who are in post-19 education. In doing so, the Agency has to ensure that it manages the deployment of funds effectively and efficiently while mitigating any associated risks to support the sector.
Following our commitment to the sector and in line with the intentions of the government’s transparency agenda, we are publishing a list of subcontractors with an aggregate contract value of £100,000 and over together with details of their lead provider. We have worked with the Sector on production of this list and will continue to work closely with Sector representatives moving forward in relation to developments in subcontracting requirements and future publication of information.
The list is compiled from information submitted from lead providers and is a snapshot taken at 10 January 2012. The Agency collects this information from the sector through the Subcontractor Declaration which is then collated and aggregated into the Subcontractor Register. It is hoped that by sharing the details of the 2011/12 subcontractor declarations it will assist our lead providers in providing them with the national picture of the Agency’s wider supply chain. As well as demonstrating the diversity and breadth of the supply chain, the purpose of giving this national overview is to assist lead providers we directly contract with their due diligence checks. This subcontractor information will enable lead providers to build a better understanding of the capacity of subcontractors prior to them entering into a commercial and legally binding relationship.
The list also reflects the variety of subcontractors who are currently receiving public funding and are engaged and successfully working to raise the skills of individuals and employers. It is this variety and diversity which demonstrates the Agency’s continued commitment to work with the sector, its colleges, training organisations and their supply chain in allowing them the freedoms and flexibilities to build their own successful models of delivery.
The Declaration of Subcontractors Form and aggregated Register are examples of the many mechanisms the Chief Executive of Skills Funding uses to effectively manage the public funds and to ensure there is a full understanding of where the public funding is being spent.
Alongside the Subcontractor Register, the Agency has developed Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to support the publication.
We use the term lead provider to refer to a college, training organisation or employer.
This publication will:
- Detail the information that the sector has provided to us that has been aggregated to form the national picture that is a position statement at a point in time
- Add value to due diligence checks undertaken by our lead providers
- Demonstrate the diversity and breadth of the supply chain
- Enable our lead providers to build a better understanding of the capacity of subcontractors prior entering into a contract
- Reflect the variety of subcontractors who are currently receiving public funding and are engaged and successfully working to raise the skills of individuals and employers
- Demonstrate our continued commitment to work with the sector and their supply chain in allowing them the freedoms and flexibilities to build their own successful models of delivery.
We are currently reviewing our position regarding subcontracting.
Supporting the sector
The Agency collects this information from the sector and by sharing the aggregated details of the 2011/12 subcontractor declarations we hope to support the lead providers in publishing the national picture of the Agency’s wider supply chain.
Assurance and due diligence
As an additional mechanism from 2011/12, to enable us to share information, manage and monitor public funds and to increase the profile of subcontractors, we have determined that all subcontractors in receipt of Agency funding with an aggregate value of £500,000 or more (annual pro-rata) need to complete the Due Diligence Assurance Gateway of the Register of Training Organisations (the Register) and this is the responsibility of the lead providers to ensure that this is undertaken.
This requirement is in addition to the lead providers’ own due diligence processes and will help support the sector in their decision making process.
We are currently reviewing our subcontracting position in terms of reviewing funding rules regarding subcontracting. In addition, the Agency is working with the Sector in considering all subcontractors completing the Due Diligence Assurance Gateway of the Register regardless of size of contract.
To support this process the launch of the Register took place on 18 January 2012; and is now a streamlined assurance gateway with a revised process to support subcontractors.
If you have any questions about the Subcontracting Register, please contact us. We will respond to your query within two working days. We may choose to publish your anonymised query and the response to it in a list of FAQs.
2011/12 Declaration of subcontractors form
To enable us to report back robust, valid and current information to further support the sector the declaration has to be updated in year as and when it changes. For example:
- When a lead provider has ceased their contractual arrangement with a subcontractor
- When a lead provider has taken on a subcontractor in year; and
- When a lead provider has increased an existing subcontractor’s contract value.
From 2012/13 we expect the declaration, whether a nil return or not, to be submitted on a quarterly basis.
To further support the sector from 2012/13 the declaration form will be able to be returned electronically and therefore, only the signatures on the contracts will be required.
