Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support the provision and availability of vocational educational programmes for pupils across Eastbourne.

As announced in the Spending Review, the government is making over £1 billion of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29.

This will support and grow the wide range of technical routes and work-based training available for people of all ages across the country including in Eastbourne. This includes:

• Widening the apprenticeships offer into a growth and skills offer, including new foundation apprenticeships, which will give more young people a foot in the door at the start of their working life.

• T levels, a high-quality technical education option for young people, including a valuable workplace industry placement which prepares them for work.

• Higher Technical Qualifications, occupation-focussed level 4 to 5 qualifications, approved and quality marked as providing the skills demanded in the workplace by employers.

• Skills Bootcamps giving learners the chance to build sector-specific skills with a job interview on completion and ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ giving learners the chance to access high value level 3 qualifications.

We have also strengthened legislation to ensure all secondary pupils have multiple opportunities for meaningful encounters with providers of technical education and apprenticeships.