The Department for Education has made a short revocation order that removes Northern College, Barnsley from a statutory designation first made in 1993. The Education (Designated Institutions in Further Education) (No. 2) (Revocation) Order 2026 was made on 1 June 2026, laid before Parliament on 3 June 2026, and is due to come into force on 24 June 2026. In plain terms, the Order removes an earlier legal designation rather than creating a new regime. Article 2 revokes the Education (Designated Institutions in Further Education) (No. 2) Order 1993, which had designated Northern College, Barnsley for the purposes of section 28(1) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
The operative text is notably narrow. Article 1 sets out the title, commencement date and territorial extent. Article 2 contains the only substantive change: the 1993 Order is revoked. The instrument extends to England and Wales. The Explanatory Note issued with the legislation is direct about the consequence. It states that, once article 2 takes effect, Northern College, Barnsley is no longer designated for the purposes of section 28(1). No wider set of amendments is attached to this instrument.
The point of reference is the 1993 statutory instrument, S.I. 1993/562. That earlier Order designated Northern College, Barnsley under the 1992 Act. The 2026 revocation therefore removes a legal status that has remained on the statute book for more than three decades. For those tracking further education law, this is a targeted statutory change rather than a broad restructuring measure. The legal effect set out on the face of the instrument is limited to ending the designation created in 1993.
The Department for Education has also signalled that it does not expect material knock-on effects from this step. The Explanatory Note says no full impact assessment has been produced because no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sectors is foreseen. That statement matters because it shows the department regards the Order as administratively narrow. The instrument itself does not set out changes to courses, staffing, estates, learner entitlements or funding arrangements.
The Order is made under section 28(1) of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The source text records that section 28(1) was later amended by the Learning and Skills Act 2000 and by the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022, placing this revocation within a legal framework that has evolved over time. The instrument is signed by Smith of Malvern, Minister of State at the Department for Education, on 1 June 2026. It was then laid before Parliament on 3 June 2026, with commencement scheduled for 24 June 2026.
For stakeholders, the practical reading is straightforward. From 24 June 2026, the 1993 designation falls away and Northern College, Barnsley will no longer be designated for the statutory purpose named in section 28(1). Any party relying on the continued existence of the 1993 Order will need to read the legal position from the revocation date. What the Order does not do is equally important. It does not, on its face, announce a merger, closure, transfer, or a new regulatory framework. If any operational consequences follow, they are not specified in this instrument and would need to appear in separate legal or administrative material.
As legislation, this is brief but still significant for record-keeping and legal clarity. Revocation orders of this kind update the live statute book and remove older provisions that ministers no longer intend to leave in force. For policy professionals, the main takeaway is a change in legal status, not a new spending commitment or reform programme. The timetable is clear. The Order was made on 1 June 2026, laid before Parliament on 3 June 2026 and comes into force on 24 June 2026. From that date, the 1993 designation of Northern College, Barnsley ceases to have effect.