Adult learners 'let down' by funding cut threat

Olga Myronovska said the Workers' Educational Association helped her become an interpreter

An adult education charity has claimed its work is under threat after missing out on funding under a new devolution deal.

A devolution agreement in the north-east of England will see the North of Tyne Combined Authority replaced by the larger North East Mayoral Combined Authority (NEMCA) in May.

The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), which operates in the region, said it faces a £1.3m cash shortfall that puts more than 70 jobs at risk in the area.

NEMCA said WEA would still be eligible to bid for other contracts, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Let down'

The WEA currently receives funding from the North of Tyne Combined Authority to provide a variety of adult education courses, with the agreement due to cease at the end of July.

But with the NTCA soon to be wound up, the WEA will not be given an equivalent grant under the new local authority which brings together the four councils which serve County Durham, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland

In a statement released this week, the charity said it had been left “devastated and shocked” and that the NEMCA skills contracts it expects to be able to bid for would be “unsuitable”.

WEA chief executive Simon Parkinson said: "Our learners are the most under-served in society and it is disappointing to see them being let down again."

Ms Myronovska fled Ukraine and settled in the North East

Olga Myronovska, 34, from Ukraine, said she had been helped by the WEA after fleeing war and settling in the North East.

She signed up for the WEA’s Community Interpreting course.

The course helped Olga land a job interpreting at hospitals, GP surgeries, and schools.

She said: "The WEA has given me a chance to represent the Ukrainian community today and help Ukrainians who don't speak English.

“The biggest need for the community is to help them at the doctors. Like when they have some symptoms when they are sick, they can't explain what's going on or what medicine they need."

New bids

Incoming NEMCA bosses said that it would be giving adult education grant funding to local colleges and councils, rather than national providers, but that the WEA would still be eligible to bid for other contracts.

A spokesperson for NEMCA said: “The North East Mayoral Combined Authority is a new combined authority that will make use of its Adult Education Budget (AEB) allocation to achieve its outcomes and improve local skills."