Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to invest in further education colleges involve additional (a) revenue and (b) capital funding.

My Department wants to make sure that English technical education rivals the best in the world and is looking at policy options for investment in further education colleges to make sure they have world-class equipment and facilities.

In the March Budget, the Government committed to increasing the number of programme hours of training for 16-19 year olds on technical routes by more than 50% to over 900 hours a year on average, including the completion of a high quality industry work placement during the programme. To ensure the routes are well designed, and colleges properly prepared, funding will be increased in line with this roll out, with over £500 million of additional funding invested per year once routes are fully implemented.

The Government’s aim is to encourage students to continue their training at high quality institutions such as National Colleges or Institutes of Technology to develop the high level skills employers demand. From 2019-20, the government will provide maintenance loans, like those available to university students to students on technical education courses at levels 4 to 6 in National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.