Budget 2026: Leeds college to benefit from funding boost
‘We’re delighted’: Budget pledges funding boost for Leeds College of Building
The Leeds College of Building is to benefit from a funding boost featured in Chancellor John Healey’s Budget for 2026.
Tucked away in the official policy paper is a commitment to “£28 million to expand the Leeds College of Building to accommodate over 2,000 new learners.”
The investment reflects a wider government pledge to deliver priority projects within the West Yorkshire Combined Authority region.
Leeds College of Building currently houses around 6,500 students, and back in May was named the Best College for Apprenticeships in England.
The institution is the only specialist further education college in the UK geared solely towards construction and the built environment.
A recent study produced by the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) displays that approximately 96 per cent of ‘green’ apprenticeships - job roles that are harder to replace with AI - are taken by young people.
The stellar track record of the LCB’s apprenticeship scheme is helping to contribute to the additional 35,000 green workers needed by 2030 to sustain the industry’s workforce demand.
Nikki Davis, Principal and CEO of LCB, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be mentioned by name in Chancellor John Healey’s budget speech to Parliament today.
“That is a future we’ve been working towards since the inception of our great college in the 1960s.”
“We will continue to work in partnership with schools and industry both locally and nationally to deliver the expert-led tuition we are known for.
“I’d also like to personally thank everyone at LCB for their help – as with everything here it has been a collective effort, and everyone has played their part.”