Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for sixth form students.

The government’s Spending Round in August 2019 identified the need to increase funding for 16 to 19 year olds’ education to ensure that they fulfil their potential and develop the skills that the country needs. That is why we are investing an extra £400 million in 16 to 19 education in the financial year 2020-21.

We will increase the base rate of funding by 4.7%, from £4,000 to £4,188, for the academic year 2020/21. Over and above the base rate rise, this extra spending also includes new resources for high value and high cost courses, as well as funding to support those on level 3 programmes to continue to study English and maths where needed. This is the biggest injection of new money into 16 to 19 education in a single year since 2010, with funding increasing faster for 16 to 19 than in 5 to 16 schooling. We will of course continue to look at the needs of 16 to 19 education in future Spending Reviews.