Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, with reference to paragraph 3.13 of the report Fixing the foundations: creating a more prosperous nation, published in July 2015, what qualifications he intends to abolish; and if he will make a statement.

The paragraph relates to professional and technical qualifications which are eligible for government funding and/or for inclusion in school performance tables. Since 2011, the government has applied more rigorous criteria for these, based on relevance to the needs of learners and employers and on demand from learners. As a result, the number of qualifications eligible for funding for learners aged 19 and over has been reduced from 10,000 in 2012 to 4,400 in the 2015-16 academic year; and the number included in 16-18 performance tables from 4,433 in 2013 to 321 in 2015-16.

We intend to continue the process of simplifying and streamlining the system and, as the Productivity Plan says, we will set out more details of our reforms in the autumn.