Section 12. – AEB Legal entitlements
Legal Entitlements
The WMCA AEB supports 4 legal entitlements to full funding for eligible adult learners.
Note: The legal entitlements for level 2 and level 3 follow the definition of fullness in below. A learner can only be fully funded for one vocational qualification from the entitlement qualifications list when exercising their legal entitlement. Appropriate information, advice and guidance should be given to a learner and the learner should be made aware of their entitlement rights and progression routes on completing an entitlement qualification.
These entitlements are set out in the Apprenticeships, Skills and Children Learning Act 2009, and enable eligible learners to be fully funded for the following qualifications:
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English and maths, up to and including level 2, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have not previously attained a GCSE grade 4 (C), or higher, and/or
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first full qualification at level 2 for individuals aged 19 to 23, and/or
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first full qualification at level 3 for individuals aged 19 to 23 and 24+ as part of WMCA flexibilities
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Information technology (‘digital’) skills, up to and including level 1, for individuals aged 19 and over, who have digital skills assessed at below level 1
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If an individual meets the legal entitlement eligibility criteria, you must not charge them any course fees.
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Eligible learners exercising their legal entitlement must be enrolled on approved qualifications for funding through the relevant entitlement. For the funding year 2022 to 2023, providers can find the approved qualifications in the ESFA list of qualifications approved for funding, for the following entitlement offers:
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level 2 and level 3 and/or
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English and maths and/or
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essential digital skills qualifications
Local Flexibility
Residents aged 19 to 23 who progress to their first full level 2, must only enrol on a qualification we have approved for funding from the Qualifications website.
Residents aged 19 to 23 and aged 24 and over, who have already achieved at level 2 or above can undertake learning up to and including level 2 from the local flexibility offer or qualifications in the level 2 legal entitlement list on the Qualifications website or Find a learning aim.
Learners aged 19 to 23 progressing towards their first full level 2, must undertake learning at entry and/or level 1 only from local flexibility.
Residents aged 24 and over, who have not achieved a level 2 qualification can undertake learning up to and including level 2 qualifications from local flexibility offer or qualifications in the level 2 legal entitlement list available on the Qualifications website or Find a learning aim.
We will co-fund provision up to, and including, a level 2 for learners who have already achieved a full level 2, or above, who are employed. The low wage flexibility may apply, refer to Residents in receipt of low wage.
Our intent is to fund an adult offer that enables residents to develop skills and knowledge to move on into further learning or work. Level 1 provision should provide that bridge to develop further learning at level 2 or secure employment through occupationally related training either through sector-based work academy provision or pre-employment training.
We expect to see most level 1 provision aligned to pre-employment training i.e. SWAP/SG/CG to support individuals into work. In supporting individuals in making these choices we also anticipate seeing occupationally specific vocational training.
We do not expect to see employed workers undertaking occupational vocational training at level 1.
We see community learning providers playing an exclusive role in putting in place provisions to support personal development. We also see community learning providing vocational tasters to support individuals into work.
Where community learning providers have formula funded delivery, we also expect to see occupationally related training either through sector-based work academy provision or pre-employment training to support residents into work.
To support individuals into work, we also expect to see our colleges and ITPs developing occupationally related training either through sector-based work academy provision or pre-employment training.
WMCA flexibility and legal entitlements
We are supporting innovative delivery that creates impact being delivered through AEB. To enable us to do this it is important that we work proactively, collaboratively, and be open and transparent. Providers may have specific flexibilities over and above these agreed as part of their delivery plan and we want to hear from providers their ideas around further flexibilities.
The additional flexibilities available are:
- Extension of full funding for 24+ unemployed to undertake a level 3 entitlement-based qualification
- Testing of full funding for level 3 non-legal entitlement qualifications
- Testing the partial or full funding of economically valuable Level 4+ qualifications and units
- Low wage pilot based on the real living wage
- Extension of low wage trial to include level 3 entitlement qualifications