Cumbria Adult Learning Concession and Fees Policy 2025 to 2026

Change Log

Introduction

The following concession and fee policy must apply across all provision funded by Cumbria Adult Learning. This policy sets out below the instances where fees are to be collected from learners. It is important to note that all Adult Skills Fund provision delivered by Cumbria Adult Learning is either fully or substantially subsidised by the Department for Education (DfE). The policy dictates that learners, at most, will contribute a maximum of 29% of the cost required to deliver the provision, with the remaining 71% minimum funded by the UK Government.

Fee rates will not be set by subcontracted partners. The rates outlined below will be used by the Cumbria Adult Learning Management and Information System (MIS) department when setting up courses on ProSolution and will be used for calculating and publishing provision fee rates on the website and in any brochure(s).

Changes for 2025 to 2026

This section sets out the main changes to this policy since academic year 2024 to 2025:

• Updated all references to the Education Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) with Department for Education (DfE) since the ESFA closed on 31 March 2025.
• Removal of the Earnings Threshold as a remission reason for Tailored Learning provision.
• Removal of all references to Free Courses for Jobs, due to changes in national funding rules
• Updated the fee remission Universal Credit thresholds based on the updated Administrative Earning Threshold (AET) and Earnings Threshold ceiling contained within the national funding rules.
• Added ‘Health Referral Scheme’ as a remission reason and outline the accepted evidence required.
• The accepted evidence for those self-employed under the Earning Threshold has been updated to include the acceptance of evidence from an employer.
• Updated the wording relating to the types of other state benefits accepted.
• The concessionary fee, full fee, and full cost fee have increased by £0.25 or £0.50.

Please note that additional minor updates have also been made throughout this policy. For this reason, it is recommended that the entire policy be read carefully.

Enrolment Form and Evidence of Remission

The enrolment form is a contract between the Learner, Cumbria Adult Learning and the DfE. To meet the funding and concession requirements, the enrolment form must be completed in full and signed by the Learner and Provider. The signatures must be the original ‘wet’ or digitally timestamped to be non-refutable. 

When signing the enrolment form the learner is declaring that they meet the criteria of the concession for which they have selected. By the provider signing the enrolment form, this confirms that the learner meets the funding criteria and fee remission evidence has been provided, where required.

The following table sets out the types of acceptable evidence for each funding stream and remission reason excluding those which are a self-declaration:

Any evidence provided physically will not be copied and retained by Cumbria Adult Learning. For digitally supplied evidence, Cumbria Adult Learning will not retain digital evidence for longer than what is deemed necessary to determine eligibility.

Adult Skills Fund Provision up to Level 2

Eligible learners attending the following provision will be fully funded under the Adult Skills Fund policy:

• Legal Entitlement Qualifications

Eligible learners who declare one of the following remission reasons will be fully funded under the Adult Skills Fund policy:

• Receive Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), including those receiving National Insurance credits only
• Receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Receive Universal Credit (UC), and your take-home pay as recorded on your UC statement (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £952 a month (sole adult benefit claim) or £1,534 a month (joint partner benefit claim)
• Receive other state benefits and your take-home pay (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £952 a month (sole adult benefit claim) or £1,534 a month (joint partner benefit claim)*
• Unemployed, not receiving any benefits, want to be employed, and learning is directly relevant to your employment prospects
• Employed and earn below the £25,750 annual gross salary earnings threshold

*Learners declaring the ‘Receive other state benefits…’ remission reason are eligible if they self-declare to be in receipt of a minimum of three of the following benefits and are not in receipt of any other benefits listed above:

• Attendance Allowance
• Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow’s pension)
• Bereavement Support Payment
• Carer’s Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Guardian’s Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit (from the 29th week you get it)
• Income Support
• Industrial Injuries Benefit
• Lump-sum bereavement payments
• Maternity Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Pensions paid by the Industrial Death Benefit Scheme
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• State Pension
• War Widow’s Pension
• Widowed Parent’s Allowance
• Winter Fuel Payments and Christmas Bonus
• Working Tax Credit

All other eligible learners will be co-funded under the Adult Skills Fund policy and a 100% fee concession will apply inclusive to 31 July 2026.

Tailored Learning Provision

Eligible learners enrolling on Skills for Life and Empowering Communities, No Fee provision will be fully subsidised.

Eligible learners enrolling on Empowering Communities, Fee based provision who declare one of the following remission reasons will be part subsidised and required to pay a concessionary fee:

• Receive Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA), including those receiving National Insurance credits only
• Receive Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Receive Universal Credit (UC), and your take-home pay as recorded on your UC statement (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £952 a month (sole adult benefit claim) or £1,534 a month (joint partner benefit claim)
• Receive other state benefits and your take-home pay (disregarding UC payments and other benefits) is less than £952 a month (sole adult benefit claim) or £1,534 a month (joint partner benefit claim)*
• Unemployed, not receiving any benefits, want to be employed, and learning is directly relevant to your employment prospects

*Learners declaring the ‘Receive other state benefits…’ remission reason are eligible if they self-declare to be in receipt of a minimum of three of the following benefits and are not in receipt of any other benefits listed above:

• Attendance Allowance
• Bereavement Allowance (previously Widow’s pension)
• Bereavement Support Payment
• Carer’s Allowance
• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit
• Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
• Guardian’s Allowance
• Housing Benefit
• Incapacity Benefit (from the 29th week you get it)
• Income Support
• Industrial Injuries Benefit
• Lump-sum bereavement payments
• Maternity Allowance
• Pension Credit
• Pensions paid by the Industrial Death Benefit Scheme
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• Severe Disablement Allowance
• State Pension
• War Widow’s Pension
• Widowed Parent’s Allowance
• Winter Fuel Payments and Christmas Bonus
• Working Tax Credit

The concessionary fee rates are as follows:

All other learners enrolling on Empowering Communities, Fee based provision will be part subsidised and required to pay the following full fee hourly rate:

Full Cost

All learners will be required to pay the following hourly rate:

Fee Reduction Schemes Offered by Cumbria Adult Learning

The following section outlines schemes that offer reduced fees to eligible individuals for Tailored Learning Empowering Communities, Fee provision commencing up to 31 July 2026. The schemes may be altered or removed at the discretion of Cumbria Adult Learning without prior notice.

Council Staff Discount

Cumberland Council and Westmorland and Furness Council employees will be eligible to redeem a 15% discount for all fee-paying provision. The following restrictions will apply:

• The discount will be deducted from the tuition element only.
• The discount cannot be applied on top of existing fee reductions, including when applying for a remission.

Discount Codes

Cumbria Adult Learning may publicise special offers which can be redeemed at adultlearningcumbria.org by entering a discount code during enrolment which entitles the purchaser to a 15% discount. The following restrictions will apply:

• The discount will be deducted from the tuition element only.
• The discount cannot be applied on top of existing fee reductions, including when applying for a remission.

Health Referral Scheme

Cumbria Adult Learning operates a Health Referral Scheme which aims to provide an opportunity for learners to join a range of fee-based provision to support their health and wellbeing when referred by a partner organisation and/or a professional. Eligible learners under the policy will be entitled to access a maximum of 20 hours of fully subsidised provision. This one-time entitlement expires after a learner has accessed a total of 20 hours, which if required can redeemed against multiple offerings. Where a learner exceeds the 20-hour fee-free entitlement, learners will be expected to pay any outstanding fees, either at the concessionary rate or full fee rate based on their individual circumstances. Due to the restrictions on this remission reason, all learners will be required to complete a physical enrolment form and declare ‘Health Referral Scheme’ as their remission reason within section 7 and in some cases any remaining fees to pay recorded in section 8.

Fees for Carers

Cumbria Adult Learning is committed to ensuring accessibility for all learners, including those who require support to attend. Therefore, we do not charge a fee to individuals who are attending solely to provide care or assistance to another learner. This applies to carers who accompany learners with disabilities, additional needs, or other support requirements that would otherwise prevent them from fully participating in their chosen provision(s). Carers are not considered enrolled learners and will not receive certification or accreditation for attendance unless they choose to formally enrol on a provision themselves.

Appeals

Learners have the right to appeal any decision made under the Cumbria Adult Learning Concession and Fees Policy 2025 to 2026. The appeals process ensures that all decisions are reviewed fairly, transparently, and consistently.

Grounds for Appeal

Learners may appeal decisions relating to:

• Fee remission eligibility determinations
• Concessionary fee entitlement
• Rejection of evidence provided for remission or reduction schemes
• Any other decision made under this policy that directly affects their access to learning opportunities

Appeals Procedure

1. Informal Resolution:

• In the first instance, learners should raise their concerns with Cumbria Adult Learning staff, who will attempt to resolve the issue informally.
• If a resolution is reached, the outcome will be confirmed in writing.

2. Formal Appeal Submission:

• If the learner is not satisfied with the informal resolution, they must submit a formal appeal in writing within 10 working days of receiving the initial decision.
• Appeals should be sent to AdultLearningMIS@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk, including:
• Full name and contact details
  • The decision being appealed
  • The reason for the appeal, including any supporting evidence

3. Review of Appeal:

• The appeal will be acknowledged within 5 working days of receipt.
• A senior member of Cumbria Adult Learning staff, not involved in the original decision, will review the appeal.
• Additional evidence may be requested from the learner if necessary.

4. Outcome Notification:

• A written response outlining the outcome of the appeal will be provided within 15 working days of receipt of the formal appeal.
• The response will detail the full and final decision

Confidentiality and Record Keeping

All appeals will be handled confidentially, and records will be maintained in line with data protection regulations. Appeal outcomes will be used to improve the fairness and transparency of policy implementation.

For further information or assistance with submitting an appeal, Learners may contact Cumbria Adult Learning at AdultLearningMIS@westmorlandandfurness.gov.uk.

Updated: 30 July 2025

Download a copy of the Concession and Fees Policy below: