Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department will extend pupil premium plus funding to previously looked after children up to the age of 18 given that education and training is now compulsory from 16 to 18.

In October 2019, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a new package of cross-government support available to young people leaving the care system. This package includes £3 million to enable the department to pilot an extension of pupil premium plus to include 16-18-year-olds in further education. This pilot will test the effectiveness of pupil premium plus and potential wider rollout of pupil premium plus for children currently in local authority care in England and children who have ceased to be looked after by a local authority in England and Wales because of adoption, special guardianship order or a child arrangements order.