Politics
West Midlands Mayor Increases Coventry Adult Skills Funding for 2026-27
Coventry jobseekers aged 19 and over will see expanded course options at local colleges after the Combined Authority adjusted its 2026-27 skills funding formula to match per-capita levels applied in Birmingham and Manchester.
How we reported this
The West Midlands Combined Authority began applying its revised Adult Skills Budget formula on 1 July 2026, routing £8.2 million directly to Coventry providers on the basis of local unemployment and qualification data. The change affects residents enrolled in further education colleges and adult learning centres across the city who seek level 2 and level 3 qualifications.
National adjustments to skills funding, set out in the Department for Education's 2025 spending review, required combined authorities to recalculate shares using 2024 census figures. Coventry recorded 14.3 per cent of working-age adults without a level 2 qualification, a rate used to determine its portion of the regional total.
Allocations Compared With Other Cities
Under the formula, Coventry receives £685 per unemployed adult, the same per-person amount applied in Greater Manchester and £35 below the figure used in Birmingham. Wolverhampton receives £650 under identical criteria. The legislation states that authorities must publish annual allocation tables by 30 June each year, a requirement met by the Combined Authority on 28 June 2026.
Residents in Coventry wards such as Foleshill and Radford can now access an additional 420 funded places at Coventry College for construction and logistics courses. Local advocates note that these places previously required self-funding or waiting lists exceeding six months.
The 2026-27 Combined Authority budget paper records a total regional skills allocation of £142 million, of which Coventry's share represents 5.8 per cent. This proportion is projected to remain stable through 2028 if unemployment data stay within current bands.
Further guidance from the mayor's office, expected in September 2026, will confirm provider contracts and enrolment targets for the autumn term. Coventry City Council has scheduled a public briefing on 15 July to explain application processes for residents.