Rule change will force colleges to provide key staff data

Colleges will be required to provide key information about their workforce in the future, under plans announced today by the Department for Education.

The move, welcomed by UCU, means that from next year, all further education providers receiving government funding will be obliged to provide information about their staff in areas such as pay, contracts and training.

Workforce data is currently submitted on a voluntary basis through the Staff Individualised Record (SIR). UCU said the optional approach had failed as many colleges simply didn't collect data, making it difficult to get an accurate picture of how staff are being treated.

UCU head of further education, Andrew Harden, said: 'The optional approach to data collection has failed - UCU has been calling for improvements to further education data for many years and we welcome this move to compulsory collection from colleges. Good quality data is essential if we are to paint an accurate picture of how staff are being treated by employers across the sector.'