Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what changes have been made to the funding of school sixth forms since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

School sixth forms used to be funded at a higher rate than colleges. In 2011/12 the Government made a deliberate decision to end this disparity so that, by 2015, schools and colleges would be funded at the same level as each other for similar programmes.

We reduced the funding for enrichment activities for all full-time students in order to protect funding for activities that led to qualifications.

Starting in academic year 2013/14 we moved from a system of funding per qualification to funding per student. Institutions are now funded for, on average, 600 teaching hours per year per full-time student. We put into place formula protection funding until 2015/16 so no provider would lose any funding as a result of the formula change.

From academic year 2014/15, we reduced the funding for 18-year-olds in full-time education. This will apply to all elements of the formula, except the extra support for disadvantaged students without a GCSE grade C or above in English or mathematics, and students with a learning difficulty assessment or a statement of special educational needs.