Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with the (a) mayoral combined authorities and (b) Greater London Authority on the provision of additional financial support to providers of adult education for the remainder of the academic year 2019-20 as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

There is urgent work under way in the department, the Education and Skills Funding Agency and with the Greater London Authority and Mayoral Combined Authorities to ensure that we have the appropriate policy response in place to respond to the impact of COVID-19 on the Further Education sector and its learners.

Our priority is preventing the spread of COVID-19 while doing everything possible to mitigate the impact on learning and attainment, and to protect the sustainability and capacity of the provider base and colleges for the future.