§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what progress her Department has made on equalising funding for sixth form funding for schools and colleges. [51301]
§ Mr. Ivan LewisWe are making a substantial investment in FE. We are putting an extra £237 million into the sector in 2002–03 alone, a 3 per cent. real terms increase. Total funding per student has gone up by 16 per cent. in real terms since 1997. For the academic year 2002–03 the Learning and Skills Council is raising its funding rates for courses delivered by FE sector colleges by 2.5 per cent. in cash terms, the highest increase for years. The Government remains committed to bringing up the level of funding for colleges towards that of schools. We are looking to the current spending review to secure the resources colleges need to deliver our ambitious agenda for FE, and thereby to bring up funding levels.