Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many further education colleges there were in each of the past five years; and what estimate he has made of how many further education colleges there will be in each of the next five years.

The number of further education colleges (institutions that are incorporated or designated and in receipt of Skills Funding Agency Funding) for the past 5 years are set out below:

The reductions since 2010 are due to institutional mergers.

Further mergers planned by colleges for 2015 will reduce the number of colleges to 241.

We make no estimates of numbers of colleges for future years.