Oral Answers to Questions Debate

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Department: Department for Education

Oral Answers to Questions

Jess Brown-Fuller Excerpts
Monday 14th September 2026

(2 weeks, 4 days ago)

Commons Chamber
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Lucy Powell Portrait Lucy Powell
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right. He has fantastic universities in his constituency. I am worried about the pressures facing higher education funding and am looking at these issues closely. As he will know, they are autonomous organisations, but I am doing what I can with Cabinet colleagues to make people aware of the precarious nature of the situation.

Jess Brown-Fuller Portrait Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)
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Students on the Manhood peninsula in my constituency have no access to post-16 education unless they travel into the city to go to the brilliant Chichester college, and those parents who are paying for a student’s bus fare are struggling to find, on average, £1,200 a year to get them there. Given that it is estimated that one in five students is not in regular education even though they are signed up for college, what steps can the Secretary of State take to make sure that all those living in coastal areas can access post-16 education, and that parents can afford to get them there?

Lucy Powell Portrait Lucy Powell
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I absolutely hear the hon. Lady. I know how closely related transport and its costs are with young people having access to the education and training that they need. Rest assured, this is a priority for the Government.