Sixth-Form Colleges (VAT)

Graham Stuart Excerpts

Tuesday 17th December 2013 Westminster Hall

[Lisa Nandy]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and his expertise on sixth-form colleges is well known; not only does he sit on the governing body of a local sixth-form college but he is chair of the all-party group on sixth-form colleges, which has done so much good work on this issue. I have to say to him that when he was first raising issues about sixth-form colleges in this place, I was actually at a sixth-form college in the constituency of the hon. Member for Bury North (Mr Nuttall). That shows that nothing changes.

As I was saying, Ministers have accepted that this situation is unfair, so will the Minister take steps to create a level playing field for sixth-form colleges? Will he make this important sector a promise that there are no more of these cuts to come? And will he join me in paying tribute to the extraordinary contribution that sixth-form colleges, such as my local one, make to young people and communities across the country?

[Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

rose—

[Hugh Bayley (in the Chair)]

I have not had a note—

[Mr Stuart]

Yes, in both cases.

[Hugh Bayley]

If it is yes and yes, I am glad to give the floor to the Chair of the Select Committee on Education.

[Mr Graham Stuart (Beverley and Holderness) (Con)]

Thank you very much, Mr Bayley, for calling me to speak. It is a great pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, and to confirm that both the Minister and the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy), who secured the debate, had agreed to my speaking in it. I am sorry if I should also have informed you, Mr Bayley, but I think my bureaucratic resources ran out after contacting the Minister and the hon. Member.

Given the short time available, I will try to keep my comments brief. In October, I wrote a letter to the Secretary of State for Education. It is a shame, notwithstanding the great respect that I have for my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, who is a deeply distinguished member of the Government, that we do not have a Minister from the Department for Education here to answer questions about what is essentially an education matter. That letter was co-signed by 73 MPs from across the House, and it made the point that the unfair treatment of sixth-form colleges as far as VAT goes made no sense and was, in fact, untenable. The good news is that the Government agreed, fundamentally, that they could not defend that treatment. The bad news is that they do not plan to do anything about it. That is a shame, because Government policy is to create a level playing field for 16 to 19 provision, and they are right to do so. If anyone wants to play party politics, I will point out that the Opposition were wrong to leave the position uneven when they were in power. However, the Government have set out their aim, but now they are not fulfilling it. They have moved in that direction, but there is a real opportunity to take action on this issue. In the overall scheme of things, it would not be that expensive to do so; for sixth-form colleges, it is estimated that it would cost no more than £30 million.

There are reasons why sixth-form colleges could be treated differently from further education colleges, if one wanted a stepped programme. To say, “This is wrong, but we can only afford to rectify some of it, so we will rectify none of it” is illogical. It would be better to do the right thing by sixth-form colleges, not least because, as has been said, they are the most successful 16 to 19 providers that we have. If the Government’s education policy is about anything, it is about raising standards across the board and, of course, closing the gap between rich and poor. Well, guess which the most successful institutions are in the 16 to 19 sector at doing both those things? You’ve got it—sixth-form colleges.

I have no sixth-form colleges in my constituency; I am not banging a constituency drum here. The sixth forms in my local schools will probably be cross with me for speaking up for sixth-form colleges so often. However, the whole point of the Education Committee is that we look at the evidence and try to work out what is the best thing to do. Well, guess what? Sixth-form colleges are peculiarly successful in addressing the Government’s two key aims on education, so it makes no sense to penalise them in the way that is happening now.

The VAT penalty that sixth-form colleges face is worth an average of £250,000 per college, and as has been said, the problem is worsened because, unlike other institutions, they cannot cross-subsidise. If that money were to be provided to sixth-form colleges, it would help them to save courses that are being lost, including less popular courses such as further maths. Ministers are quite right to identify the need to encourage science, technology, engineering and maths subjects. Sixth-form colleges can play a positive part in doing that, if they are provided with the wherewithal to do so.

[Mr Robin Walker (Worcester) (Con)]

I am grateful to the Chairman of the Education Committee for giving way; he is making a very strong speech. He talked about investment in STEM subjects. Worcester sixth-form college has received money from the Government to invest in a new science centre. However, does he agree that that money would go further if we were able to take action on VAT for colleges?

[Mr Stuart]

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I think there are feelings across the House on this subject. I said that I would keep my remarks brief, so perhaps I will bring them to a close. The big point is that sixth-form colleges have for years consistently been the most successful providers at delivering the Government’s key educational aims for 16 to 19-year-olds, but time and again, they appear to be on the front line of cuts in funding. That cannot make sense, in terms of having a rational, coherent approach to this issue.

[Jason McCartney (Colne Valley) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend on the great work that he is doing. He said that he has no sixth-form colleges in his constituency; I have no schools that provide sixth-form education in my constituency. However, there are three colleges there that provide sixth-form education: Huddersfield New college, Greenhead college, and Kirklees college. I also congratulate the hon. Member for Wigan (Lisa Nandy) on securing this debate, and I will continue to support this campaign.

[Mr Stuart]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for saying so.

There is another aspect that it is worth pointing out briefly. At the moment, because of the freedoms for schools that I think are broadly supported across the House—there is certainly support for them on the Government Benches—there is a danger that we are sleepwalking into the creation of more small sixth forms, which we know, from sustained evidence gathered over time, perform poorly. At the same time, we are undermining institutions that have a long track record of success in raising standards for all, and in closing the gap between rich and poor. We cannot allow that to happen, so we need the Government to wake up and recognise the jewels that they have in the form of sixth-form colleges.

Far from seeing sixth-form colleges cut back, sliced and reduced in capacity and capability, I would have thought that, having found a delivery system that works better than others, we should desperately look at expanding and supporting it in a way that is fair to other providers. I do not want in any way to be prejudiced against sixth forms, but I would like a level playing field, because we have the exact opposite: we are seemingly strengthening those with the weakest record, and weakening those with the strongest record.

[Kelvin Hopkins]

rose—

[Mike Thornton (Eastleigh) (LD)]

rose—

[Mr Graham Stuart]

I had better give way to the hon. Member for Luton North (Kelvin Hopkins) first, and then I will sit down.

[Kelvin Hopkins]

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on his speech; I agree with every word of it. However, does he agree that the Government ought to be looking to create many more sixth-form colleges across the country?

[Mr Stuart]

I agree. If a system is most successful and cost-effective, establishes high standards, particularly for the poorest, and closes the wealth gap, I would think people would be delighted to see it expand. I will give way to my hon. Friend the Member for Eastleigh (Mike Thornton), and then I will draw to a close.

[Mike Thornton]

I thank the hon. Gentleman for giving way; I very much appreciate it. With the reduction in spending caused by VAT and the need to provide for those over 18, does he agree that it is very strange to cut money for colleges that aim specifically to get people good A-level results and other results at that level, when they are trying to educate people, including those who perhaps missed out earlier, but who are now able to catch up on their education between the ages of 18 and 19?

[Mr Stuart]

My hon. Friend is right. Perhaps that is the danger of making political promises that are nice and neat. His party might want to look carefully at the way that the protection of schools has left very few areas where we can cut in order to deliver reductions in spending. It could be that a series of measures that were positively meant have eventually led to this cut.

Those who are 18 at the start of an academic year and who are still at a sixth-form college are likely to be those clinging on to education, having struggled in post-16 education, and they may be at risk of becoming NEET—that is, not in education, employment or training. Again, it does not make sense for a Government who are rightly using the pupil premium and other measures to try to close the gap to finish up looking to make reductions at the end of the period—at the time when pupils need help to get over the line, and to get themselves on the first rung of the employment ladder—rather than looking to put in place additional support. The sixth-form college sector is not looking for special treatment; it is simply looking to be treated fairly, compared with other providers.