Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Government press release entitled Government invests in young people with more opportunities close to home, published on 28 July 2026, what recent assessment has been made of the availability of suitable premises and equipment required to deliver the additional technical and vocational courses.

The department invited bids from further education colleges, sixth form colleges and 16 to 19 academies to meet the additional need for capacity for post-16 education and to increase construction skills provision to address waiting lists for construction courses. Applicants were assessed against clear criteria which focused on the need for the project, as well as the applicant’s ability to plan and deliver the new facilities, and in the case of construction skills capacity funding, specialist equipment.