Colleges in England are to be reclassified as public sector bodies, it has been confirmed, which comes with new controls on borrowing and senior staff pay.
Today’s decision concludes a six month “classification review” by the Office for National Statistics, the independent body which decides which sectors of the economy should be accounted for in the government’s accounts.
This affects further education colleges, sixth form college corporations and designated institutions in England and ends a decade of private sector status.
The ONS has said: “These further education institutions will be reclassified from the non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH) sector to the central government sector. This comes into effect, retrospectively, from 1 April 1993 for FECs and DIs, and from 1 April 2012 for SFCCs.”
