For General Enquiries or Complaints contact the Skills Funding Agency’s head office in Coventry on 0845 377 5000.
The Skills Funding Agency (SFA) are an executive agency who, acting under the Department for Business, Innovations and Skills, are responsible for allocating £4 billion of government money to appropriate FE colleges, businesses, training providers and adult education centres across the UK. If you are an employer or education provider and would like to enquire about registering for funding with the SFA then you should either phone 0370 267 0001 or visit the Skills Funding Agency section of the .Gov.UK website.
General Enquiries
If you would like to contact the SFA by telephone regarding a general enquiry then phone 0345 377 5000, or if you prefer email use the following address: info@sfa.bis.gov.uk.
You can also write to the head office in Coventry: Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT
Register your business or college with the SFA
The SFA provide funding to educational institutions and businesses that can prove that they are helping adults back to long term employment, and can also give evidence that they are fulfilling the SFA capacity and criteria and due diligence tests. To tender for funding first your organisation will have to register with the SFA, the process is as follows:
- Register with the UKRLB so you can get your UK provider registration number.
- Using your UK provider registration number add your other registration details on the SFA e-tendering portal. If you experience any technical difficulties at this stage then phone the service desk on 0370 267 0001
- Once registered on the portal complete the entry pre-qualification process, taking care to carefully complete the due-diligence questions plus the capacity and capability sections.
If you experience any difficulties when trying to register your company or college then you should phone the SFA service desk on 0370 267 0001 between 8.30 and 5pm Monday to Thursday and 8.30 to 4pm on Fridays.
Alternative contact details for the SFA Service Desk are provided below:
Email – servicedesk@sfa.bis.gov.uk
Email for Technical support – help@bravosolution.co.uk
Instruction document for completing SFA application: Read Me First
Employee Data Service
This online portal is a database of employer and education providers in the UK that is maintained by the SFA so they can see where their funding is going and assess the success of businesses and educational providers in terms of providing educational and employment opportunities to unemployed adults. The portal can be accessed by SFA employees and also the providers so they can input their claims and audits.
If you experience any technical difficulties when using the portal then you should contact the EDS helpdesk on 01242 545346 or the Data Service Desk on 0870 267 0001.
SFA Complaints
The majority of complaints to the SFA fall within one of the three categories listed below, each of these types of complaint has a seperate resolution process.
Complaints about providers – If you have a complaint about one of the providers funded by the SFA then you should phone the general enquiries telephone number to regsiter your complaint on: 0845 377 5000. Alternatively you can contact the SFA complaints team by email at: complaintsteam@sfa.bis.gov.uk, or use the postal address below:
Complaints Team
Skills Funding Agency
Cheylesmore House
Quinton Road
Coventry
CV1 2WT
Fraud – To register an allegation of fraud against the SFA or one of its providers you should phone 0345 377 5000. Be aware that if you make your allegation over the phone the SFA will request that you also put your allegation in writing either via email at allegations@sfa.bis.gov.uk. or by letter to:
The Skills Funding Agency
Vetting and Investigation Team
Cheylesmore House
Quinton Road
Coventry
CV1 2WT
In total the complaints procedure takes about 40 days and is divided into three parts. Firstly you need to register your complaint with the SFA; from this point they have 5 days in which to contact you to inform whether they will investigate and if so who will be leading the investigation. If they decide to proceed they have ten days in which to prepare a summary of the case and how they plan to investigate it. After you have recieved a copy of this summary the SFA have 25 days in which to perform their investigation an contact you with their findings.
If you are unhappy with the outcome of your complaint or feel it has not been dealt with properly you can escalate your complaint by contacting the Parliamentary Ombudsman on 0345 015 4033. This number is open between 8.30am and 5.30pm Monday to Friday.
The final recourse for your complaint is referral, via your MP to the Parliamentary Commissioner at the address below:
Parliamentary Commissioner
Millbank Tower
Millbank
London
SW1p 4QP
SFA Media Enquiries
Journalists are invited to contact the SFA by phone on 020 7783 8300, whereas members of the general public are asked to phone a different number: 03450 194 170.
SFA Regional Office addresses and telephone numbers
The SFA have a number of regional offices dotted across the UK from which they can take application for and oversee funding. You can also use the number of the office that oversees your area to log a complaints about the SFA or one of their providers.
Birmingham – Victoria Square House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B2 4AJ. Telephone: 0845 377 5000
Bristol – 2 Rivergate, Temple Quay, Bristol, BS1 6EH. Telephone: 0117 900 1700
Coventry – Cheylesmore House, Quinton Road, Coventry, CV1 2WT. Telephone: 0845 377 5000
Gateshead – St. George’s House, Kingsway, Team Valley, Gateshead, NE11 0NA. Telephone: 0845 019 4181
Leeds – The Cube, 123 Albion Street, Leeds, LS2 8ER. Telephone: 0113 341 1659
London – 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET. Telephone: 020 7904 0750
Manchester – 3 Piccadilly Gate, Store Street, Manchester, M1 2WD. Telephone: 0845 377 5000
Nottingham – Apex Court, City Link, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG2 4LA. Telephone: 0115 872 6335
Sheffield – 2 St. Paul’s Place, Sheffield, S1 2FJ. Telephone: 0845 377 5000