Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what data his Department uses to improve its subcontracting arrangements for the education and training of learners over the age of 16; and if he will publish that data.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) publish a list of declared subcontractors that hold contracts worth £100,000 or more in aggregate with one or more ESFA-funded provider of adult education and training services, including apprenticeships and traineeships. The list shows subcontractors with their lead or main provider/s and the individual values of their contracts. The list is based on data taken from subcontractor declarations that lead or main providers submit to us each year. The list is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/subcontracting-using-funding-to-offer-education-and-training#providing-external-assurance-on-subcontracting-controls.

The subcontractor declarations and the list of declared subcontractors allows lead and main providers to understand the contractual commitments of their current and potential subcontractors. The data provided also feeds into the ESFA risk assessments of providers.

This subcontractor declaration information has informed our current subcontractor review and consultation.