Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to expand the provision of courses in organic and agroecological practices in agricultural colleges and other appropriate institutions.

The Government is not responsible for deciding which courses further education institutions deliver. This is the responsibility of the institutions themselves who will take account of Government priorities as well as skills demands identified by local stakeholders and employers.

As part of our reforms to technical education, we are establishing a common framework of 15 technical education routes that encompass all employment-based and college-based training. The implementation of the routes will be phased, and the Agriculture, Environment and Animal Care route will be rolled out in September 2022. Within the routes will sit new T level qualifications. As with all the routes, the content of T levels within the Agriculture, Environment and Animal Care route will be determined by advisory groups of employers, professionals and practitioners.

On 11 October the government published a T level Action Plan, which set out progress on the technical education reforms. Later this year, the Government will hold a public consultation on the new T level qualifications.