Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to increase funding for vocational further education courses; and if he will make a statement.

The government announced on 31 August 2019 that it will invest an extra £400 million in 16-19 education in 2020-21. This is the biggest injection of new money in a single year since 2010 and represents an increase of 7% in overall 16-19 funding. As part of this, the base rate of funding for all types of providers will be increased by 4.7% in academic year 2020-21, from £4,000 to £4,188. This extra funding will support all types of courses, including vocational subjects and as part of this, we have now announced that T Levels funding rates will also be increased by 4.7%.

The funding settlement for further education for adults aged 19 and over will be confirmed in due course. Additionally, funding for 2021-22 onwards will be considered in the full Spending Review next year.