Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government on what grounds additional funding for the Careers and Enterprise Company has been approved for the recruitment of the post of (1) a Head of Government and Public Relations at a salary of £40–50,000; and (2) a Communications Manager at a salary of £48,000.

Funding for the Careers & Enterprise Company for the financial year 2020-21 onwards will be agreed once the government’s next Spending Review has concluded and details of the department’s budget are confirmed.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education said in 2014 that the Careers & Enterprise Company would sustain itself in the longer term. Since then, the government has asked the company to take on an expanded role to help deliver the government’s careers strategy. The company is supporting schools and colleges to improve their careers provision in line with the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance. We will shortly publish a revised sustainability plan alongside the 2019-20 Grant Funding Agreement on the company’s website at: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/.

Funding for all staff salaries at the Careers & Enterprise Company comes from the overall grant funding agreement. The total grant for 2018-19 was £30.2 million. The company recently advertised for a Parliamentary and Government Relations Manager at £40,000 to £50,000 and a Communications Manager at £42,000 to £48,000. Salaries are benchmarked against civil service roles and are on a par with similar organisations.