The department expects the investment to lead to over 22,000 additional learners each year and will support colleges and other further education providers to offer every young person a place to undertake post-16 study. The department does not expect significant movement of learners between providers as a result of the funding, as the criteria for funding made clear that projects which increased market share rather than met demographic need were ineligible for funding.

The bidding round for the £287 million Post-16 and Construction Skills Capacity Fund in non-devolved areas was a competitive process, with project need the most weighted element. The successful projects were those that could best evidence a need for additional places.

For devolved areas, the department has already allocated £283 million capital funding to strategic authorities to support the creation of additional education and training places in areas where they are most needed.

The department has issued grant agreements to almost all the successful applicants to the £287 million Post 16 and Construction Skills Capacity Fund. We are now working with all successful recipients to ensure that they are able to deliver the additional places to the planned deadlines.

The government recognises that access to a skilled workforce is essential to the resilience and long-term success of the food and farming supply chain. The Farming Roadmap 2050 sets out a long-term vision for a productive and resilient farming sector, including support for skills, workforce development and career pathways.

Employers across agriculture, food production and processing help shape technical qualifications and apprenticeship standards, helping to ensure training reflects workforce needs. Young people and adults can access a range of routes into these sectors, including apprenticeships, T Levels, technical qualifications, further education courses and higher technical qualifications, alongside provision delivered by specialist land-based colleges.

In 2025/26, the government is investing £154 million in programme funding for land-based colleges, supporting the specialist training and facilities needed to develop the skilled workforce the food and farming sectors require.

Schools must provide pupils with at least six opportunities during years 8 to 13 to hear directly from providers of apprenticeships and technical education, helping them understand the full range of pathways available.

We fund the Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC) to work with employers and sector bodies to help young people understand and access technical, vocational and apprenticeship pathways in the food and farming supply chain. CEC is partnering with the Institute of Grocery Distribution through Feeding Britain’s Future to help young people learn about careers and pathways across the food system. It also works with agricultural organisations to bring employer insight into education.

Careers hubs across England support locally led employer engagement, work experience and mentoring in agriculture and agri-tech. This helps young people understand the pathways available while supporting employers to develop future talent.

The department is not aware of any internal consultation carried out by the Student Loans Company on its behalf regarding proposed changes to Disabled Students’ Allowance.

The department is still at an early stage of development. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment.

We will work with Mayoral and Strategic Authorities to design locally tailored, vocationally focused pathways for each region for students from age 14. These authorities can bring together employers, training providers, schools and colleges to make technical pathways a success. This should include universities, where particular pathways and qualifications lead to progression to higher education.

The department is still at an early stage of development. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment.

We will work with Mayoral and Strategic Authorities to design locally tailored, vocationally focused pathways for each region for students from age 14. These authorities can bring together employers, training providers, schools and colleges to make technical pathways a success. This should include universities, where particular pathways and qualifications lead to progression to higher education.

The department is still at an early stage of development. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment.

We will work with Mayoral and Strategic Authorities to design locally tailored, vocationally focused pathways for each region for students from age 14. These authorities can bring together employers, training providers, schools and colleges to make technical pathways a success. This should include universities, where particular pathways and qualifications lead to progression to higher education.

The department is still at an early stage of development. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment.

We will work with Mayoral and Strategic Authorities to design locally tailored, vocationally focused pathways for each region for students from age 14. These authorities can bring together employers, training providers, schools and colleges to make technical pathways a success. This should include universities, where particular pathways and qualifications lead to progression to higher education.

The department is still at an early stage of developing the new technical education pathways. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment. As policy develops, we will continue to consider the evidence needed to support implementation and evaluation of the pathways.

In addition, the government has announced a package of measures aimed at preventing young people from becoming NEET. These include strengthening identification and support for those at risk, enabling better data sharing between local authorities, schools, and further education providers, and introducing a ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tool. Schools will also have a stronger role in ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination.

The department is still at an early stage of development. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment.

The department will work closely with Mayoral and Strategic Authorities to consider how success of the new technical education pathways should be measured. We will also consider how existing budgets can best support schools, colleges and local authorities to implement the technical education pathways from age 14.

The department is still at an early stage of development. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment.

The department will work closely with Mayoral and Strategic Authorities to consider how success of the new technical education pathways should be measured. We will also consider how existing budgets can best support schools, colleges and local authorities to implement the technical education pathways from age 14.

The government recognises that outcomes for too many young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) remain below those of their peers, including in progressing into sustained education, employment and training after age 16.

The SEND reform consultation, ‘Putting Children and Young People First’, noted that the likelihood of young people with SEND sustaining participation in education, employment or training has not meaningfully improved, despite significant increases in SEND funding, and identified variation in the quality and consistency of support available across the system.

The government has therefore committed to strengthening support across the 0 to 25 system, including a stronger emphasis on employment outcomes, better use of vocational pathways, supported internships and apprenticeships, and improved identification of SEND at any age. The consultation proposes a new ‘Experts at Hand’ offer, giving mainstream early years, school and further education settings access to specialist support without requiring an education, health and care plan.

Our post 16 reforms aim to widen participation through clearer pathways, including new V Levels, the expansion of T Levels, clearer Level 2 routes through Occupational and Foundation Certificates, and new level 1 16-19 English and maths qualifications. We also announced £87 million in exceptional in-year growth payments, to help support the level of demographic growth we have seen in the 2025/26 academic year.

T Levels continue to deliver strong outcomes for learners. In 2026, the overall pass rate was 92.6%, with 68.9% of students achieving a merit or above. We are making changes to T Levels content and assessment to support manageability and scale up and new rules for industry placements give providers and employers more scope to design innovative placements.

When designing these new pathways, we are placing a strong emphasis on inclusion. We are considering the needs of learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those at risk of becoming NEET, and others who face barriers to participation, to ensure they are inclusive and accessible by design.

As education and skills policy is devolved, the Scottish Government is responsible for associated policy in Scotland.

Skills England is responsible for assessing skills needs across the economy in England and helping to align education and training provision with labour market demand. They maintain a strong relationship with the Scottish Government, sharing labour market intelligence and expertise to support a coherent UK-wide skills landscape while respecting devolved responsibilities for skills policy.

Areas of current discussion include skills intelligence and labour market evidence; workforce trends, priority sectors, and emerging occupations; productivity and growth challenges; and education and training reforms.

Entitlement to partially means-tested undergraduate loans for living costs is based on the income of the student’s household. The income used is the total income charged to tax as defined at step one of Section 23 of the Income Tax Act 2007, before reliefs for trade losses and other deductions are made by HMRC from step two onwards of Section 23.

The use of income charged to tax in the household income assessment applies a standard measure of income to calculate a student’s entitlement to living costs support and allows all students to be assessed consistently and fairly. It is not intended to be an exact calculation of disposable income for each household.

Information on income is available from HMRC and allows around 1.3 million assessments a year to be carried out quickly and efficiently each year by Student Finance England.

Entry requirements for all vocational and technical qualifications for 16–19-year-olds, including T Levels, are set by individual providers. Young people with a range of prior attainment are accessing T Levels - the GCSE grade split for students receiving T Level results is very similar to those receiving results for Applied General Qualifications (AGQs). In addition, the proportion of students accessing T Levels without having achieved GCSE English and maths at grade 4 or above has increased each year, demonstrating that T Levels are reaching a broader group of learners and becoming increasingly accessible.

16-19 students have access to a range of English and maths qualifications: GCSEs, Functional Skills Qualifications and other approved Level 1 and entry-level qualifications where appropriate. New Level 1 qualifications will provide an additional progression route for learners with prior GCSE attainment of grade 2 or below. The government consultation response will be published later this year.

The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper introduced reforms intended to widen participation in Level 3 study, including the development of new V Level qualifications, clearer progression routes from Level 2 to Level 3, an automatic college-place guarantee, enhanced support for learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and more flexible learning opportunities through the Lifelong Learning Entitlement. Together, these measures aim to ensure that high-quality Level 3 pathways are accessible, including to those with SEND, and all learners can progress successfully into further study or employment.

Earlier this year we published the SEND reform consultation, ‘Putting Children and Young People First’, setting out our commitment to strengthening support across the 0 to 25 system, including a stronger emphasis on employment outcomes, better use of vocational pathways, supported internships and apprenticeships, and improved identification of SEND at any age.

Information on the participation, outcomes and achievements of learners through these reforms will be monitored to identify their impact and to inform policy development.

Through competitive tender process, the department has commissioned ‘Transform Your Training’ to develop a series of continuing professional development (CPD) modules for careers advisers, including a module on supporting young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Careers adviser qualifications and CPD cover SEND, helping advisers to understand dyslexia, identify barriers to learning and progression, work with special educational needs coordinators and other professionals, and provide personalised careers guidance.

Careers advisers help young people understand education, training and employment options, including the assessment approaches and progression requirements for different pathways. Education and training providers are responsible for preparing learners for assessments and providing appropriate support.