What is the Welsh Government doing to support colleges and further education providers to meet the demand for the courses they offer?
Welsh Government provides funding to Medr, the body responsible for funding and regulating the tertiary education and research sector in Wales.
The Welsh Government also provides significant support to further education institutions to invest in their estates, through the Sustainable Communities for Learning Programme. During 2026/27, we will invest £63 million of capital funding to support major further education infrastructure projects, enabling institutions to transform learning environments and meet the needs of learners.
Alongside this, we are investing £6 million to support institutions to maintain and improve the condition of their facilities through our Capital Repairs and Maintenance Grant, and a further £4 million to deliver adaptations to support learners with Additional Learning Needs
Local authorities and further education institutions have autonomy over how they plan and deliver their provision according to their local needs and priorities within the guidance provided by Medr. Further information on how Medr allocates it’s funding to the sector can be found at their website including their most recent investment publication for academic year 2026/27; https://www.medr.cymru/en/News/medr-2026-16-medrs-investment-for-academic-year-2026-27/.