Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Education: 16 to 19-year-olds

Monday 23 October 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 1 Not answered 0

Key points

  • The Department is investing an additional 3.8 billion over the course of the Parliament to strengthen post-16 education and training.
  • The Department is boosting 16-to-19 funding by 1.6 billion compared with 2021-22.
  • The Minister expressed concern about a constituent's difficult experience with an academy refusing a sixth-form place to a high-performing pupil with special educational needs.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Heather Wheeler Con
Education
Context

No specific background provided, but the question seeks information on support measures.

Question

What steps her Department is taking to support people aged 16 to 19 in education.

Answer from Robert Halfon

We are investing an additional £3.8 billion over the course of the Parliament to strengthen post-16 education and training, and we will boost 16-to-19 funding by £1.6 billion compared with 2021-22. We have launched our T-level programme, and 52% of apprenticeship starts in 2022-23 provisionally were by young people under 25.

Answered
Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)

Q2 Heather Wheeler Con
Education Children & Families
Context

The MP raises concerns about an academy's refusal to provide a sixth-form place to a high-performing pupil with special educational needs who has met academic requirements.

Question

I thank my right hon. Friend for that answer. Does the Department have any jurisdiction over an academy refusing to offer a sixth-form place to a high-performing pupil with special educational needs who has more than met the academic requirements for one?

Answer from Robert Halfon

I was really sorry to hear about the difficult experiences of my hon. Friend's constituent; I was disturbed to hear what has gone on. I know that my hon. Friend has raised the matter in correspondence with the Department, which the Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (David Johnston), recently addressed. I hope that her constituent is now safely settling in at her new college, but the Schools Minister and I will absolutely look at this again.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Department's jurisdiction over academies refusing sixth-form places was not clearly addressed.

How: We Will Look At This Again

Was this summary accurate? Tell us

How accurate was this summary? (1 = poor, 5 = spot on)