Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 5 February (HL4901), how many Gypsies and Travellers were not in employment, education or training (1) 3 months, (2) 6 months, and (3) 12 months, after having completed an apprenticeship, in each academic year from 2011.

The information requested is not held centrally. It is difficult to provide reliable estimates for small groups using the sources available.

The department publishes destinations data for pupils across the different phases of education, including those participating in apprenticeships, other further education, and higher education. However, the latest published data incorporating apprenticeships does not include breakdowns for Gypsy/Roma or travellers of Irish heritage as the sample sizes were too small to form a reliable estimate. For the same reason, this information cannot be produced from datasets held on young people not in employment, education or training.

The department will continue to review data from these sources.

The latest published destinations data for students in key stages 4 and 5 shows that of the 1005 pupils recorded as Gypsy/Roma as at the end of key stage 4 in 2014/15, 65% were in a sustained education or employment/training destination in 2015/16. In the same period, 130 students were recorded as travellers of Irish heritage, and 68% of them were in a sustained education or employment/training destination. In both cases, 4% were found to be participating in an apprenticeship in 2015/16.

Of the 105 pupils recorded as Gypsy/Roma as at the end of key stage 5 in 2014/15, 78% were in a sustained education or employment/training destination in 2015/16. In the same period, 20 students were recorded as travellers of Irish heritage, and 65% of them were in a sustained education or employment/training destination. 8% and 0% of these groups, respectively, were in apprenticeships in 2015/16.