Oral Answers to Questions

Paul Blomfield Excerpts

Monday 21st July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gibb]

I am grateful for the right hon. Gentleman’s warm words—I think they were warm. I would welcome the opportunity to visit that school, but I will pass on the invitation to my right hon. Friend if I am not good enough to visit it myself.

[Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) (Lab)]

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

[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.

[Paul Blomfield]

The Minister will know that recent figures show that academies have access to 35% more funding per student than sixth-form colleges, yet sixth-form colleges still have to pay VAT, insurance and capital costs, diverting money away from teaching and learning. As the Minister settles into his new job, what will he do to secure fairness in education for all young people?

[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.