Select committee: Education Committee

Recommendation 41

Fourth Report - Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Published 29 Jun 2023 Paragraph 148 Addressed to Department for Education
Recommendation (the committee's words)
There is a clear need for support enabling pupils outside mainstream education to access careers advice and guidance. The rising number of pupils being educated at home risks more and more young people being locked out of access to CEIAG provision, and the much-awaited register of pupils not in school is still lacking, with no clear timeframe for this to be delivered.

From: Education Committee, Fourth Report - Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (HC 54), paragraph 148, 29 June 2023

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 21 September 2023 (deadline 29 August 2023).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government says it welcomes the report and "accept[s] fully or in part the majority of the Committee's recommendations", and says that where it does not fully accept one, it has an alternative existing or planned approach.

  • On a new strategy, it agrees there is "a strong case" and intends to publish a Strategic Action Plan for Careers in 2024, setting clear measurable outcomes and dates.
  • It does not accept additional numerical Gatsby Benchmark targets, saying they risk "encouraging a tick-box approach".
  • It is "not persuaded" that it should suggest a proportion of time for Careers Leaders, and "does not agree" with ringfencing funding for careers advisers, saying schools and colleges are best placed to decide their own arrangements.
  • It agrees to update the careers statutory guidance in spring 2024 to set an expectation that schools and colleges self-report against the Gatsby Benchmarks annually, while avoiding mandating Compass.

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error