Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to his letter to the joint chief executives of Skills England entitled Skills England priorities for 2025 to 2026, dated 27 October 2025, what estimate he has made of the number of learners who will enter (a) level 4 and (b) level 5 education or training by age 25 in Buckingham and Bletchley constituency in the next three years.

On 20 October, we published the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, which outlines our reforms to develop a world-class skills system that supports young people into education and training, meets learner and employer needs, and drives innovation and economic growth. This includes our bold new target of two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning - whether academic, technical or an apprenticeship - by age 25. This includes a sub-target of 10% of young people participating in higher technical education or training - at levels 4 or 5 - by age 25, by 2040.

We do not hold forecasts of the numbers of learners who will enter level 4 or level 5 study by age 25. The number of entrants that entered level 4 and level 5 study in previous academic years, broken down by local authority level, can be found in the Higher Level Learners publication here: Higher Level Learners.