Vocational Education: Disadvantaged

(asked on 21st June 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of removing funding for Applied General Qualifications on the ability of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress to (a) higher education and (b) skilled employment.


Answered by
Gillian Keegan Portrait
Gillian Keegan
Secretary of State for Education
This question was answered on 24th June 2021

The Department has consulted in two stages on proposals for the review of post-16 qualifications at level 3, which includes Applied General qualifications (AGQs). The review aims to ensure that students and employers have confidence that every qualification on offer is high quality and can lead to skilled employment or further study. The second stage consultation proposed that there should be a range of qualifications alongside A levels and T Levels in areas where those qualifications can demonstrate their necessity and meet new quality criteria.

The impact assessment published alongside the second stage of consultation stated that the changes will generally be positive because students will have access to higher quality qualifications in the future, including new T Levels. This will put them in a stronger position to progress to further study or skilled employment. It acknowledged that students from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to take qualifications that could have their funding approval removed but did not directly assess the effects of the proposed changes, including any changes to the availability of AGQs, on progression of disadvantaged students into higher education or skilled employment.

We are considering the feedback to the consultation carefully and will publish a full response, including an updated impact assessment, later this year.

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