Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Nick Boles and Julie Hilling

Monday 21st July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab)]

10. What assessment she has made of the effects on performance for sixth-form colleges of funding changes since 2010.

[The Minister for Skills, Enterprise and Equalities (Nick Boles)]

Although sixth-form colleges have had to make a contribution to our efforts to deal with the massive budget deficit left by the previous Government, the number of students in sixth-form colleges attaining level 3 qualifications by age 19 has increased by almost 8% since 2010.

[Nick Boles]

Fairness is exactly what we are trying to achieve, and we want a system whereby students receive the same level of backing for their studies regardless of the institution to which they go. Despite the previous Government having had 13 years to sort out the unfairness of the school funding system, we inherited a system that was byzantine in its complexity, and it is taking us some time to work it out.

[Julie Hilling]

A number of sixth-form providers across Bolton have contacted me to say that the funding regulations for sixth-form colleges mean that they are under pressure to place students on additional courses to meet the minimum hour requirement, which is detrimental to those students who succeed better when they are focused on just three subjects. Will the Minister look again at the regulations that are pressurising students to follow educational pathways that are not in their best interests?