Lord Lucasasked Her Majesty's Government:
(a) What are the levels of central funding per sixth form student for Greenhead College, Huddersfield, and for school sixth forms in Kirklees local education authority; and (b) whether they have any plans to eliminate any funding discrimination against students at sixth form colleges in general. [HL3245]
§ The Minister of State, Department for Education and Employment (Baroness Blackstone)Greenhead College in Huddersfield is funded by the Further Education Funding Council, and provision for 16–19 year olds is currently allocated at an average of £2,630 annually per full time equivalent student. The element of funding that is passed down to schools through the Average Weighted Pupil Unit by Kirklees Local Education Authority is currently £2,674 for each school sixth former.
Today the Government issued a White Paper, Learning to Succeed, setting out plans for a Learning and Skills Council which will in future fund FE colleges. A parallel consultation paper has been published today inviting views on options for the funding of school sixth forms in the light of the new arrangements. These documents have today been placed in the House of Lords Library.