Response to Lord Heseltine report

The recommendations of the report include more funding being distributed at a local level, particularly for further education and skills. The union said it had long supported more localised funding controls, but said there needed to be proper engagement with the local community and colleges, not simply local businesses deciding where the money went.

UCU added that unless the necessary skills and capacity were in place to deal adequately with communities' requirements then the new system risked becoming a bureaucratic nightmare with unaccountable quangos in charge of taxpayers' money.

UCU General Secretary, Sally Hunt, said: 'This is a wide-ranging report and we shall be looking closely at the recommendations and how they may be implemented. The devil will be in the detail, especially as we already have numerous complicated funding streams for further education.

'We need assurances that the Local Enterprise Partnerships have the necessary skills and capacity to deal adequately with education and training. The review aims to cut down on red tape but unless the new system operates in an accountable, democratic and transparent fashion we risk ending up with even more quangos and bureaucracy.

'We have always supported more localised funding for education and skills. However, if we are to see real improvements then there must be proper collaboration between colleges, the local community and business. This must not simply lead to competition from businesses to try and secure cash earmarked for local education.'

• No stone unturned: in pursuit of growth - Lord Heseltine review