Further Education for All
The Government is to guarantee every young person a place in post-16 education with £655 million of extra funding.Every young person who wants to study or train will have their place guaranteed by the Government, thanks to today’s budget announcement. The £655 million of extra funding will help tackle youth unemployment and ensure continued investment in skills despite the economic downturn.
The announcement means that the September Guarantee of a place in education and training for every 16 and 17-year-old who wants one will be met. It will also reassure school and college leaders who were concerned that their financial allocations would not match the surge in the number of young people wanting to continue learning.
There will be additional investment of £251 million in 2009-10 and £404 million in 2010-11 to allow 54,400 more young people to take up a guaranteed place at school or college or with a training provider in 2009 and 2010. In addition, a further £80 million will be prioritised from the DCSF capital budgets over the next two years to support college capital projects which benefit 16-19 year olds.
Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, said: “Today’s announcement guarantees young people that their sixth form, college or training place will be protected and paid for by the Government. This means that 54,400 more young people will be able to study or train, more than we had planned for last year.
“Encouraging young people to stay on in education or training is vital to ensure we are well placed for economic recovery. We have already announced funding for 17,500 extra apprenticeships for young people so the new funding announced today will mean that 72,000 more young people will have an education and training place this year.”
He added: “We have looked very hard at our budgets to identify ways we can be more efficient. We will not cut budgets we have allocated to schools or key programmes but, more than ever, we expect public services to be efficient and deliver high levels of value for money.”
The additional funding for 16-18 year olds will be allocated by the Learning and Skills Council. The LSC will write to individual schools and colleges shortly to confirm their funding and next steps.
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