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Skills and Post-16 Education Bill [HL]

I am afraid that I am not in a position to be able to confirm that today, but I can confirm that “scorched earth”, “niche” and “most” are not a reflection of where we are on this policy.

On the definition of “overlap”, in our policy statement in July last year we published the three tests that would be used to determine overlap: first, is the qualification in question a technical qualification; secondly, are the outcomes that must be obtained by a person taking that qualification similar to those set out in a standard covered by a T-level; and, thirdly, does the qualification aim to support entry to the same occupation as the T-level?

Turning to the number of people and the scale-up of T-levels, the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, suggested that 230,000 students start a BTEC each year. In fact, as the noble Baroness, Lady Blackstone, clarified just now, there are 230,000 students taking BTECs or similar qualifications at any one time, rather than as initial starters.

My noble friend Lord Baker suggested that the number of people starting BTECs is in the hundreds. Around 5,450 students started their T-level last September, at just over 100 providers across the country. That was

up from 1,300 students, who were the pioneers and are now in their second year. We now have more than 400 providers, all over the country, signed up to deliver T-levels. All the current T-levels will be available by 2023, and of course those providers include FE colleges and UTCs, which deliver significant numbers of those qualifications.

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More broadly on the very wise challenge from the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, about our level of confidence in scaling up T-levels to our target of 100,000 a year, we are, as your Lordships know, investing very heavily to make sure that this is a success. Where in the early stages we focused very much on quality, which I am sure noble Lords would endorse, we are now looking to scale up, and have invested more than £165 million in capacity-building funding to ensure that providers can work with employers to deliver the industry placements that are so important for this. We have made £268 million of capital funding available for the first wave of T-levels, and the recent spending review settlement included £2.8 billion of capital across the SR period, which will include specific capital funds to support T-level providers. The SR settlement will deliver an extra £1.6 billion a year for 16 to 19 year-olds’ education by the end of the SR period, including more hours of teaching for T-levels.

The noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, and my noble friend Lord Baker challenged that T-levels are too difficult and potentially inaccessible for students with GCSEs at grade 5 and below. I hope your Lordships will remember that we have introduced the T-level transition programme which is designed to support young people who are not ready to start a T-level at 16 but could progress to one following a tailored preparation programme.

My noble friend also referred to the consultation in relation to GCSE requirements in English and maths for access to higher education. I remind him that it is a consultation, not a decision.

The noble Baroness, Lady Blackstone, and the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, referred to the 86% figure in response to our consultation. That question related to the process rather than the policy of withdrawing public funding approval for qualifications that overlap with T-levels. Most consultation respondents supported our plans for academic qualifications: 73% agreed with our proposals for types of smaller qualifications that should be funded alongside A-levels and 71% agreed with our proposals for the types of larger qualifications that should be funded as alternative programmes of study to A-levels.

We also touched on students and access to higher education. This Government are absolutely committed to making sure that students from more disadvantaged backgrounds are able to access higher education, and we are very proud of our record in that regard. The data shows us that students of BTECs are around three times more likely to drop out of higher education than those entering with A-levels, even after controlling for age, ethnicity, level of disadvantage, and level and subject of study; hence we loop back to the importance of choice, diversity and quality, to which the noble Lord, Lord Blunkett, referred. As the noble Baroness,

Lady Garden, put it, they are different animals. That is absolutely fine. We want a choice of animals, whether they are travelling on Crossrail or the Central line.

My noble friend Lord Baker’s amendment is concerned about the restriction of choice. We are looking at this absolutely through the prism of quality and we will be publishing more detailed information, advice and guidance on the range of study programmes that students can choose as our reforms take effect.

Finally, the noble Lord, Lord Watson, asked how the Ofqual consultation fits in with this plan. The consultation sets out Ofqual’s proposed approach to regulating alternative academic qualifications and alternative technical qualifications operating in conjunction with the institute and the department. These qualifications will be part of the future level 3 landscape as part of our review alongside A-levels, T-levels and apprenticeships.

If I may, I will write to my noble friend on the moratorium issue. With that, I urge noble Lords to accept the Commons amendments and not to press their amendments to a vote. I beg to move.