Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent steps his Department has taken to empower young people to engage in politics.

Citizenship education is in the national curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4. As a result of the national curriculum review, the Government revised the programmes of study to ensure pupils are taught the core knowledge of citizenship at Key Stages 3 and 4. The new programmes of study came into effect in September 2014.

The programmes of study are designed to prepare pupils to play a full part in society, and are organised around core knowledge about democracy, government, and how laws are made and upheld. The programmes of study also require schools to prepare pupils to manage their money well and make sound financial decisions.

In addition, both Citizenship GCSE and Political Studies A-level are available for study with the number of those sitting the latter increasing in 2017.