Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support young people in receipt of Carer's Allowance in (a) further and (b) higher education.

The department is determined that all young carers and young adult carers get the support they need to succeed in all stages of education.

The department provides a range of financial support for students who need it to enable them to participate in further education. This includes free meals, bursaries to help with the cost of education, such as travel, books, equipment, and trips, plus support for childcare and residential costs where required.

Disadvantaged English domiciled 18-year-olds are now 74% more likely to enter higher education than they were in 2010.

In the 2023/24 academic year, over £160 million of bursary funding has been allocated to institutions to help disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds meet costs, which is nearly 12% higher than published allocations for last year. Institutions decide which young people receive bursaries and determine the level of financial support they receive. They can develop their own eligibility criteria for access to the discretionary bursary fund, including setting a household income threshold appropriate to their area and must publish information on this for students.

In November 2021, the department asked the Office for Students (OfS) to refocus the access and participation regime in higher education to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education. This regime should include support for disadvantaged students before entry to higher education (HE) and be set out in new access and participation plans. Providers should be working meaningfully with schools to ensure that pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, including young carers, are encouraged and supported to achieve the highest possible grades and move up the ladder of opportunity whether that be an apprenticeship or higher technical qualification, or a course at university.

Furthermore, in March 2023, the OfS launched an Equality of Opportunity Risk Register, which can be found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/promoting-equal-opportunities/equality-of-opportunity-risk-register/. It focusses on students least likely to experience equal opportunity in HE with references to young carers in six of the key sector risks set out in the register.

HE providers are expected to refer to the register when writing access and participation plans.