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<p>Area cost adjustments for 16-19 education and training are based on the differing
wage costs across England, as indicated by the Labour Force Survey (LFS). The same
area cost index is used for sixth form colleges as for all other post-16 institutions
in England that are funded by the Department for Education. It is also used for education
and training for adults funded by the Skills Funding Agency.</p><p>The current area
cost index was developed in 2002 by the Learning and Skills Council and has been reviewed
on several occasions since then. Initially Cambridgeshire did not have an area cost
adjustment, but in 2008 there was a specific review of the area cost adjustment for
the county, which considered a range of factors and gave Cambridgeshire an uplift
of 2% for the academic year 2009/10 and all years subsequently. The uplift for Oxfordshire
is 7%.</p><p>The whole post-16 funding formula was reviewed in 2012, and we decided
at that stage not to make any changes to area cost adjustments.</p>
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