CITB funding changes in 2026: what training providers need to change

CITB moved SMSTS, SSSTS, TWC and a list of other short health and safety courses out of its short course grant. The old grant only applies to courses completed before 8 January 2026, or booked before 8 December 2025 and completed by 31 March 2026, and an employer has until 31 March 2027 to make its one transition application (CITB transition workbook).

Those courses are now supported through Employer Networks at a fixed contribution. CITB's list of health and safety courses supported via Employer Networks, updated 4 February 2026, includes:

• SMSTS, SSSTS and TWC: £115 each
• SMSTS, SSSTS and TWC refreshers: £55 each
• SEATS and DRHS: £60 each
• Asbestos awareness: £60, and £30 for the refresher

Site Safety Plus Health and Safety Awareness (HSA) is not on that list, so check with CITB before telling an employer it is funded.

From 1 April 2026 Employer Network funding is capped for each employer by size (CITB funding update):

• Micro, 1 to 9 staff: £1,500
• Small, 10 to 49 staff: £2,000
• Medium, 50 to 249 staff: £4,500

The Employer Network budget for 2026 to 2027 is £11.5 million. Employers with 250 or more staff move to the Large Employer Fund, worth up to £18,000, with expressions of interest from 1 April to 30 June 2026.

CITB's fees to providers changed on the same date. The April 2026 fees list puts the Site Safety Plus delegate registration and certification fee at £39, or £25 for HSA, and the delegate HS&E test fee at £23.50.

Plant is still on grant. Courses under CITB's new plant standards attract a grant by tier (CITB plant standards and grants):

The training must meet the new standard in full, lead to a card carrying the CSCS logo and be delivered by an ATO or Training Provider Network member approved for that standard, and the provider must upload the achievement. The employer gives the provider its 7 digit levy number.

Plant categories without a new standard attract £240 per course, or £140 for MEWP and mast climbing courses, with £60 for a CPCS theory test and £190, £240 or £410 for a CPCS practical test depending on the category (CITB plant grant list, 18 March 2026).

The standards are still rolling out. Vacuum excavators (tier 3) and loader compressors (tier 2) joined on 29 September 2026, the Appointed Person (Lifting Operations) standard launches on 27 October 2026, and phase 5, covering earthworks, cranes, demolition plant, tower cranes and the crane supervisor, follows in early 2027 (CITB phase 5 news).

The rules sit with the employer, but the admin lands on the provider:

• Quotes and prices: quote Site Safety Plus courses with the fixed Employer Network contribution, not the old grant tiers, and keep the £39 and £25 delegate fees in your course costs
• Booking details: capture the employer's CITB levy number and size band at booking, so you can see how much of its cap is left before you promise funding
• Plant courses: record whether each delegate is a novice or experienced, check the course meets the standard for its delivery date, and know its grant tier
• Uploads: CITB asks for achievements on the Construction Training Register within 10 working days, with two days to amend, and a plant grant is not paid until the upload is done. The bulk file is a CSV in CITB's 25 column format
• Site Safety Plus paperwork: the scheme rules need the course notification at least two working days before day one, and every delegate's result within 10 working days of the last day
• Transition evidence: keep booking evidence for courses still claimable under the old grant until 31 March 2027

Our live training provider demo at training-demo.varsuite.co.uk does this in one place. Each employer account holds its levy number and size band, a funding tracker shows the cap used and left, the Employer Network contribution on each course, the plant grant tier and any grant still pending upload, and a submissions queue counts down to every CTR deadline. See our training provider software page for the rest.

Checked on 22 October 2026:

• CITB, Funding update: Employer Networks and Large Employer Fund: caps, budget and the Large Employer Fund
• CITB, Health and safety courses supported via Employer Networks, February 2026: fixed contributions
• CITB, Bulk short course grant transition application: transition dates
• CITB, Plant standards and grants and plant grant list, 18 March 2026: tiers and rates
• CITB, Training Provider Network fees list, April 2026: delegate and test fees
• CITB, Short course grants and short duration training support: upload deadlines
• CITB, Site Safety Plus principal scheme rules, September 2026: notification and results deadlines