Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of T Levels on social mobility in Bury South constituency.

The provision of high-quality technical education is key to improving social mobility, and we want as many young people as possible to benefit from T Levels. The introduction of T Levels will help raise the standard of technical education, so that it is seen as equal in esteem to our world class academic route. The industry placement element of T Levels helps to build students’ employability skills, developing their confidence in the workplace and giving young people from all backgrounds a head start in accessing skilled work. T Levels carry UCAS points in line with three A levels so will also allow progression to higher education. We have also developed a T Level Transition Programme, which is aimed at students who have potential to complete a T Level but need extra support.

The first T Level providers are situated across the country and we have ensured they are represented in opportunity areas. From this academic year, Bury College and other providers in the wider Bury area began offering T Levels, boosting access to high quality technical education for young people in the area.