Is funding for sixth form students adequate?published at 14:45 British Summer Time 10 September 2018
Education Questions
House of Commons
Parliament
Labour MP Thelma Walker gets the Commons week started with a question to Education ministers on the adequacy of funding for sixth form students.
Education Minister Anne Milton says the department is working with the Treasury ahead of the forthcoming spending review, as well as with schools and colleges to help make them more sustainable.
Ms Walker questions this and says 50% of schools and colleges have already cut modern languages provision, with 60% cutting extra curricular activities. The minister says base rate funding is protected until 2020, additional support being put in as well for disadvantaged students.
Labour's Emma Hardy says the entire sector is extremely concerned about the budget report, and asks the minister to commit to making no further cuts to Further Education budgets. The minister says the sector is independent, but the government is working to help improve sustainability of budgets.
She says she will be making appeals to the Treasury for improvements in funding.