Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to mitigate the potential effect of the UK leaving the EU without a deal on the economic sustainability of the further education sector.

The department is considering all aspects of how exiting the EU might affect education and training in England. This includes consideration of participation in EU funded programmes, future arrangements for migration, and access to student finance support. Earlier this year, the department published a number of no deal notices to advise education organisations on how to prepare, including one for further education (FE) and apprenticeship providers.

Our initial assessment is that, overall, there would be limited direct financial or economic impact on the FE sector of a no deal exit. However, the department will continue to keep this under review, alongside our normal monitoring of the financial health of the college sector.