House of Commons · Adjournment Debate
13 January 2025 · 4 other contributors
Opened by Alison Bennett LD Mid Sussex
Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.
Alison Bennett raised concerns about sixth-form college strikes sussex 2025-01-13 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.
Key points
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.
Opened the debate
In my constituency, our young people are fortunate to have several highly regarded sixth-form options, including three brilliant colleges just over the boundary in Brighton, Hove and Horsham. Since late November, those colleges have been among 32 across England that have held seven strike days... I feel that teachers are being treated unfairly and that students in Mid Sussex and beyond are being badly failed as a result.
I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue, which affects Scarborough sixth-form college too.
The main thing my constituents tell me is that students must not be left struggling under undue duress and pressure.
Does my hon. Friend agree with me that the Government should do more to get brilliant teachers back in front of their students?
This is a huge problem in my constituency. Between Sparsholt agricultural college and Peter Symonds sixth-form college, almost 9,000 students are affected by this pay disparity and the resulting dispute just in my constituency alone.
Government Response
I congratulate the hon. Member for Mid Sussex (Alison Bennett) on securing a debate on this important subject... I will endeavour to respond to as many of the points as possible. We have provided £15 million of funding to sixth-form colleges and general FE colleges for April to July 2025. This grant will enable colleges to respond to current priorities and challenges, including workforce recruitment and retention. The Government’s commitment to the education of young people was demonstrated in our Chancellor’s Budget announcement of an additional £300 million for further education. We acknowledge the challenges that sixth-form colleges and their teachers face and are committed to recruiting 6,500 new expert teachers across schools and colleges over this Parliament. This includes getting more teachers into skills shortage subjects, supporting areas with recruitment challenges, and tackling retention issues through targeted retention incentives and teacher training bursaries. We also support the FE workforce by establishing Skills England to ensure a highly trained workforce aligned with national needs.