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  9. National coalition calls on Chancellor to invest in adult and community education in Autumn Budget 2025

National coalition calls on Chancellor to invest in adult and community education in Autumn Budget 2025

10 November 2025

A group of 13 leading organisations from across the lifelong learning and skills sector, including UCU, has called on the chancellor to prioritise investment in adult and community education in the forthcoming Autumn Budget, warning that continued underfunding threatens both the economy and social inclusion.

The Right2Learn (R2L) campaign, based at Ruskin College, Oxford, brings together partners from across the further, higher and adult education sectors to champion the right to learn throughout life. Following cuts to England's Adult Skills Budget in the spring of 2025, the coalition has written to the chancellor [404kb] urging the government to reverse the long-term decline in adult learning funding.

The R2L campaign and its partners are calling on the chancellor to:

  1. restore adult education funding to the 2010 levels, as proposed by leading sector organisations
  2. protect funding for community learning, ensuring it reaches disadvantaged groups and localities
  3. invest in outreach and learner support to address the barriers faced by older adults, those out of work, and the inequalities faced by people in rural or underserved areas.

The open letter is signed by the University and College Union (UCU) alongside the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), Coalfields Regeneration Trust, HOLEX, Learning and Work Institute, Lifelong Education Institute, National Education Opportunities Network (NEON), Right2Learn, The Open University, Universities Association for Lifelong Learning (UALL), University of Salford, WEA and Deirdre Hughes OBE, Director of DMH Associates and Legacy Fellow of UK Career Development Institute (CDI).

Professor Graeme Atherton, co-founder of the R2L group and vice-principal at Ruskin College, said: 'In order for the chancellor to achieve the government's ambitions for growth, investment in adult skills is crucial. Funding cuts in this area will make boosting productivity a major challenge and will add to the burden on public services, as adult learning is proven to improve health, well being and reduce crime.'

Investing in Adult and Community Education in the Autumn Budget 2025 - letter to the chancellor, Nov 25 [404kb]

For further information, contact Rhianwen Roberts, UCU policy officer.

Last updated: 10 November 2025