Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to section 2.6 of Reforms to subcontracting education for learners over 16, what steps she has taken to ensure that lead 16-19 education providers have direct contractual relationships with third parties providing specialist input.

The department has updated the subcontracting rules to stipulate that when a subcontractor wants to appoint and work with a third party, which could include a sports club, it is the provider who must have a direct contractual relationship with the third party and not the subcontractor (point 86). This rule is monitored through the standard subcontracting reporting and audit requirements, including the individualised learner record and subcontracting declaration, which from 2022 must also include the declaration of subcontracting of any employability, enrichment and pastoral activity. The department has also introduced the subcontracting standard which Education Skills and Funding Agency (ESFA) providers must meet if the aggregate total of all subcontractors delivering ESFA funded provision exceeds or is anticipated to exceed £100,000 in any single funding year.

The department is reviewing sports provision with the Football Association and the Association of Colleges. All subcontracted sports provision must adhere to the relevant subcontracting rules.