Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) further education colleges and (b) sixth forms are supported during the covid-19 outbreak.

I am very grateful for how sixth forms and FE colleges have responded to the unique challenge of COVID-19.

We have confirmed that the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) will continue to pay grant funded providers their scheduled monthly profiled payments for the remainder of the 2019/20 funding year. Allocations for 2020/21 have also now been confirmed and payments will be made as scheduled. Up to date details are contained in operational guidance available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-maintaining-further-education-provision. For colleges in significant financial difficulties, the existing support arrangements remain in place, including short-term emergency funding.

My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has also announced a series of wider measures to support employers and employees, recognising the significant impacts caused by COVID-19. We have confirmed that FE providers can apply to the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS) for non grant-funded employees. The CJRS has been extended until August 2020. Up to date details of this support are available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19/covid-19-support-for-businesses.

As announced last summer, we will next year be increasing investment in education and training of 16-19 year olds by £400 million, including an increased base rate, and more funding for high cost and high value subjects, which will help the sector to deliver in the difficult circumstances we are facing during the pandemic. In March, we also announced an investment of £1.5 billion over five years in capital spending for further education colleges.

For sixth forms, our priority is to ensure that Year 13 students can progress as planned, including starting university, moving into apprenticeships or securing a job, and to support Year 12 students to prepare for examinations next year.

We have published a planning guide for secondary schools (including those with sixth forms)?to help school leaders to prepare and decide arrangements:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preparing-for-the-wider-opening-of-schools-from-1-june/planning-guide-for-secondary-schools

These are rapidly developing circumstances and we will continue to keep the situation under review and to keep Parliament updated accordingly.