More funding needed for colleges, says MP

Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, is one of 93 MPs who have signed a cross-party letter to Mr Javid, called for him to prioritise sixth form education in his spending review next week.

The letter has also been signed by former education minister Robert Halfon, Stafford MP Jeremy Lefroy, Wolverhampton MPs Emma Reynolds and Eleanor Smith, and shadow education minister Tracy Brabin.

The MPs, who all have a school sixth form, sixth form college or further education college in their constituency, highlighted a report by the parliamentary select committee on Education in July which called on the Government to “urgently address underfunding in further education by increasing the base rate from £4,000 to at least £4,760, rising in line with inflation.”

The MPs said that raising the rate to this level was the only way to ensure that schools and colleges could increase student services to the minimum required levels, protect minority subjects and reverse the decline in extra-curricular activities and work experience.

They said that while the recent investment in T-levels – a vocational alternative to A-levels – was welcome, they said it was important that traditional qualifications were not forgotten.

"The additional funding proposed for T-levels is welcome, but will have no impact on the vast majority of young people who study A levels or applied general qualifications," they said.

Mr Halfon, who is chairman of the select committee, said: “It is extraordinary that 16-18 education has for so long been starved of cash.

"Funding this age group properly must sit at the heart of a 10-year plan and be a major priority in the forthcoming spending round.

"I am delighted that so many MPs have used the letter to support the Education Committee’s recommendation to raise the rate of funding to at least £4,760 per student, rising in line with inflation.”

James Kewin from the Sixth Form Colleges Association, added: “Next week’s spending round is a golden opportunity for the Government to address the funding crisis in sixth form education, and ensure that colleges and schools receive the funding they need to provide every 16-18-year-old with a high quality education.”