Buckinghamshire Council Gains Adult Education Powers

On paper, the Buckinghamshire Council (Adult Education Functions) Regulations 2026 read like dense legal housekeeping. In practice, the regulations published on legislation.gov.uk make a clear change: some adult education powers are being moved from the Secretary of State to Buckinghamshire Council. **What this means:** the regulations came into force on 22 April 2026, but the teaching and training changes only apply to provision in an academic year starting on or after 1 August 2026. So the legal switch has happened already, while the practical effect for learners and providers begins with the 2026/27 academic year.

This sits inside England’s devolution system. Under the Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016, ministers can pass certain functions to a local authority if the council agrees and Parliament signs it off. Buckinghamshire Council consented, and the Secretary of State said the change was likely to improve local economic, social and environmental wellbeing. One detail is easy to miss in the legal wording. The regulations extend to England and Wales, but the area covered by these new powers is Buckinghamshire Council only. So this is not a rewrite of adult education across the whole country. It is a local handover for one council area.

The biggest shift sits in regulation 3. Buckinghamshire Council will exercise, instead of the Secretary of State, functions under sections 86 to 88 of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009. In plainer English, that means the council takes over important powers around securing education and training for people aged 19 or over, setting learning aims and facilities, and dealing with some tuition fee arrangements. For learners, that matters because choices about adult education can now be shaped closer to home. A council can look at local employers, local colleges, travel patterns and skills gaps in a way national government often cannot. The regulations do not promise extra places or new courses by themselves, but they do move important decisions away from Whitehall and into Buckinghamshire.

But not everything is being handed over. The regulations explicitly exclude apprenticeship training, anything connected to people subject to adult detention, and any power to make regulations or orders. That boundary is important. **What stays out:** if you are thinking about apprenticeships, this change does not mean Buckinghamshire Council suddenly runs that system. The same is true for adult education linked to detention settings. The council is gaining real authority, but only within the limits written into the law.

Another detail makes a big practical difference. Some powers move across fully, while others are shared. Under regulation 4, Buckinghamshire Council can act alongside, not instead of, the Secretary of State on encouraging adult education and training, and on providing financial resources under section 100 of the 2009 Act. That shared power also covers funding linked to approved technical education qualifications or approved steps towards occupational competence, but not for everyone. It does not apply to people in adult detention. It also does not apply to learners who are under 19 when they start, or learners under 25 who have an Education, Health and Care plan at the point they begin that technical route. So this is mainly a change for adult learners, not a transfer of wider post-16 responsibilities.

Just as important is what Buckinghamshire Council must still follow. If the council adopts eligibility rules for awards at institutions it funds under section 100, it must do so in line with any direction from the Secretary of State. It must also have regard to guidance issued by the Secretary of State when using these devolved powers. That tells us something useful about how devolution works in England. The system becomes more local, but it does not become fully separate. Buckinghamshire can make more decisions itself, yet ministers still keep the national frame through guidance, directions and the limits written into the regulations. The explanatory material also points to separate government guidance on exercising devolved adult education functions.

The schedule to the regulations does some of the legal heavy lifting. Across a series of sections in the 2009 Act, references to the 'Secretary of State' are effectively read as 'Local Authority' for Buckinghamshire when these functions are being exercised. That is how the law turns the council into the relevant decision-maker for the powers being transferred or shared. There is also a quieter change around information sharing. Section 122 of the 2009 Act is amended so information can be shared with a local authority in England exercising devolved adult education functions, and with a person providing services for that authority. For learners, that may sound technical, but it matters because funding, enrolment and support systems only work smoothly if the right organisations can lawfully share information.

So what should local learners and providers take from all this? If you are aged 19 or over in Buckinghamshire and starting eligible study from August 2026, your council may now have more say over what adult education is backed locally and how some funding decisions are made. If you are looking at apprenticeships, are in detention, or are a younger learner covered by the exclusions, this change is not mainly aimed at you. **What to ask next:** Will my course still be funded? Is this adult education or an apprenticeship? Does my age, or an EHC plan, change who is responsible? The government’s explanatory note says no full regulatory impact assessment was prepared because no significant wider impact is expected, but local choices can still shape what opportunities are easier to find, easier to fund and easier to fit around real life.