Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make it his policy to extend the pupil premium to cover post-16 students.

The national funding formula for 16 to 19 year olds includes extra funding for disadvantaged students, provided to institutions specifically for students who live in the most disadvantaged areas, and those with low prior attainment. In 2017/18, 16 to 19 institutions received around £520 million to provide extra support to disadvantaged students.

We allocated £130 million for discretionary bursaries to help financially disadvantaged young people participate in education and training. In addition, young people in defined vulnerable groups may be eligible for up to £1,200 a year to support their participation costs.