Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of trends in the number of students studying (a) BTECs and (b) other level 3 qualifications.

On 20 October 2025, the department set out plans to introduce V Levels, a third vocational pathway at level 3. V Levels will sit alongside A levels and T Levels and will offer a vocational alternative to these academic and technical routes. They will blend applied learning with practical assessment, with content linked to occupational standards set by Skills England. We launched a consultation on post-16 level 3 and below pathways, closing on 12 January 2026. The consultation is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/post-16-level-3-and-below-pathways.

This government is fully committed to T Levels. Where a student wishes to study a large qualification (those with 720 guided learning hours or more) and a T Level exists, they should undertake the T Level. T Levels are outperforming large qualifications in T Level areas of study. In line with this, funding for other qualifications of 720 guided learning hours and over in T Level areas of study will be removed in 2026 and 2027.

The department is keeping funding for most existing qualifications in place until new V Levels and other qualifications come in.