Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department plans to increase the financial support offered to 16-18 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds in education and training.

The department provides a number of financial support programmes to those aged 16- 18 to help with the costs associated with staying in post-16 education:

• The 16-19 Bursary Fund from which awards can be made to support students from vulnerable groups and those who may face financial hardship;
• Support for free meals in further education for disadvantaged students;
• Care to Learn provides childcare funding and related travel costs for young parents aged under 20;
• The Residential Support Scheme helps with the costs of living away from home if the student’s chosen programme is not available locally;
• The Residential Bursary Fund provides support with accommodation costs for young people at specific institutions delivering specialist provision.

We have no current plans to increase funding for these programmes; however, we are keeping this under review.