Oral Answers to Questions

Flick Drummond Excerpts

Monday 12th June 2023 Commons Chamber

[Rob Butler (Aylesbury) (Con)]

9. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of technical education pathways at secondary schools.

[Mrs Flick Drummond (Meon Valley) (Con)]

15. Whether her Department is taking steps to increase the provision of specialist technical education at secondary schools.

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

To complement our reformed, more rigorous GCSEs, we are ensuring that high-quality vocational and technical qualifications are available. We have introduced new technical awards at key stage 4 in engineering, technology and many other subjects, and we have our own prestigious T-level offerings for those from 16 years old onwards.

--- Later in debate ---

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend is a champion of UTCs, and he knows that they are equipping students with the skills that employers need. I congratulate Aylesbury UTC on the new health and social care suite it is opening later this month. As he mentions, Baker Dearing Educational Trust has proposed a pilot for a technical curriculum in a small number of existing schools, and the Department will take a decision on that shortly.

[Mrs Drummond]

Students in my Meon Valley constituency who want to go to a university technical college can apply only to the excellent but oversubscribed one in Portsmouth. I am supporting the Portsmouth UTC in its bid to expand into Southampton, which will increase the numbers who are able to take advantage of this excellent education route and give choice to young people in my constituency. Can my right hon. Friend confirm when his Department will announce support for the next round of UTCs?

[Robert Halfon]

My hon. Friend is a champion of skills, and she is right that UTCs, such as the outstanding Portsmouth UTC, are providing students with skills that will lead to rewarding technical careers. The Department is carefully assessing the free schools applications received against the published criteria and intends to announce the successful proposals before the summer. It is worth mentioning that UTCs have high destination outcomes at key stage 5, especially into apprenticeships.