Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how often they meet their counterparts in (1) Northern Ireland, and (2) Wales, to discuss the examination arrangements for (a) GCSEs, and (b) A Levels.

The Department for Education organises quarterly meetings with officials from the Welsh and Northern Irish governments. These meetings are joined by the qualifications, examinations and assessments regulators for each country: Ofqual (regulator for England), the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (regulator for Northern Ireland) and Qualifications Wales (regulator for Wales). The purpose of these meetings is to discuss and update counterparts on policy and regulatory arrangements for qualifications, including GCSEs and A levels, in each of the three countries. Ofqual also meets the regulators in Wales and Northern Ireland frequently to discuss issues relating to the regulation of GCSEs and A levels.