Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potentiual role of (a) further education colleges and (b) universities in tackling the level of inequality of educational outcomes for children in the North of England.

This government is focused on levelling up opportunity so that every young person, regardless of their background or geographic location, can get the skills and training needed to secure rewarding, well-paid jobs and move up the ladder of opportunity.

To help improve people’s lives and boost the economy, the government’s skills mission sets out an ambition for 200,000 more people to complete high-quality training in England each year by 2030. This includes 80,000 more people completing courses in areas of England with the lowest skills levels.

The department wants to make sure that it is raising skill levels in the places where they are lowest, so that more people have the skills they need to get good jobs. Skills are a crucial driver of economic disparities between people and places. Boosting skills improves human capital and is a clear way to improve the earnings potential and life chances of people who have already left school.

This government has built a new skills system from the ground up, recognising that skills are crucial in driving long-term economic growth and is taking forward major reforms set out in the Skills for Jobs White Paper: delivering T Levels, boosting apprenticeships, approving Higher Technical Qualifications, rolling out Skills Bootcamps, and introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2025. The paper is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-for-jobs-lifelong-learning-for-opportunity-and-growth.

The department would like to see more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds accessing apprenticeships which are so crucial in driving social mobility. This is why £1,000 has been provided to both employers when they take on apprentices aged under 19, or 19- to 24-year-old apprentices who have an Education, Health and Care Plan. Apprentices that are under the age of 25 that have been in local authority care can also claim a bursary of £3,000.

In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students, asking it to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education.

Prior attainment is a key determinant of successful participation in higher education. That is why the department has asked universities to take on a more direct role in driving up the standards in schools. The department wants universities to:

• Work more with schools and colleges to raise standards so that students have more options and can choose the path that is right for them.
• Move away from just getting disadvantaged students through the door, and instead tackle dropout rates and support students through university to graduation and into high skilled, high paid jobs.
• Offer more courses that are linked to skills and flexible learning such as degree apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications, and part time courses.

The department is providing £30 million of funding to Uni Connect through the Strategic Priorities (SP) Grant for 2023/24. Uni Connect delivers targeted interventions and support aimed at increasing the number of young people from under represented areas going into further and higher education by bringing together universities, colleges and local partners.

There are several Uni Connect partnerships throughout the North of England, including Inspiring Choices in York. So far, over one million young people from underrepresented groups have engaged with the Uni Connect programme.