Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many young people aged 16 to 25 with high needs were allocated places as learners with further education and skills providers in each year since 2012.

High needs students can attend both specialist and mainstream institutions, including general further education colleges.

In the 2015 to 2016 academic year, 21,982 young people with high needs were either placed in special post-16 institutions or further education institutions which received additional funding from local authorities. In 2016 to 2017, this number rose to 25,675 students.

Further education institutions include further education and sixth form colleges, and independent learning providers (formerly known as post-16 charitable and commercial providers).

Comparable data regarding young people with high needs prior 2015 is not readily available.