Local authority leaders have called for an end to the current centralised approach to training as a new report finds that the Government’s £4bn annual skills spend is ‘failing to deliver’.

A new report from the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the Department for Education’s (DfE) £4bn a year spend on activities designed to develop workforce skills in England is failing to deliver the skills essential to economic growth.

The number of adults participating in Government-funded further education and skills training has dropped dramatically, from 3.2 million in 2010/11 to 1.6 million in 2020/21. The drop is particularly marked in poorer areas.

The PAC said DfE’s response doesn’t match the scale of the problem and doesn’t address key factors involved in the national skills shortage, which include Brexit and the target in law to reach net zero by 2050.

PAC chair Meg Hillier MP said: ‘Despite £4bn a year of taxpayers’ money spent on skills programmes, participation has fallen off a cliff – especially among older workers and in poorer areas. The Government is not going to make inroads on levelling-up if it does not get ahead of this.

‘With UK workforce numbers falling the Government needs to get serious on skills. The future of the economy depends on it.’

Cllr Kevin Bentley, chairman of the Local Government Association’s (LGA) People and Places Board, said: ‘This report is an alarming reminder of the skills shortages we face unless we address major challenges in supporting people of all ages and backgrounds into further education and training.

‘We need to move away from a top-down, centralised approach to skills, with employment support devolved to local leaders to get the best value for money from the billions currently spent by government on various disjointed national schemes.

‘Every area has its own unique labour market including a mix of jobs, qualification levels, unemployment and vacancies. Councils and combined authorities want to unlock this potential talent, using their unrivalled local insight and knowledge to bring employers, training providers and jobseekers together with their proven track record in delivering more for less.

‘Given the right powers and resources, local government can help build a workforce fit for the future by creating new jobs, offering new training and spreading opportunities to more people, in our shared endeavour to level up the country.’

Minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education Robert Halfon said: ‘Our skills programmes have been designed hand-in-hand with businesses to meet their needs, and that of the wider economy. Our ambition is to ensure people of all ages, at all stages of life, can access high quality technical qualifications and training – and are able to climb the ladder of opportunity.

‘We are focused on delivery to drive long-term economic growth and create a pipeline of talent to meet the needs of our future workforce. That is why in the Autumn Statement we announced Sir Michael Barber will be advising on skills implementation to drive forward our progress.’