To ask the Secretary of State for Education, on how many occasions his Department has taken action against a school or college as a result of providing poor or no careers guidance.

Careers education is steadily improving across the country following publication of our careers strategy in December 2017.

We publish statutory guidance for schools and colleges, which sets out what they should do to provide independent careers guidance for year 8-13 students. This includes the requirement, commonly known as the Baker Clause, for schools to publish a policy statement, showing the opportunities for technical education and apprenticeship providers to talk to all year 8-13 pupils.

When we have found instances of non-compliance with these statutory duties, we have taken action. In January 2019, the former Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills (Anne Milton), my right hon. Friend for Guilford, wrote to 5 of the largest multi-academy trusts that had not yet published arrangements for provider access on all their academy websites to ask them to act to comply with the law. We also encourage providers to contact us if they are experiencing difficulties or have been blocked from going into schools, and we address this in such cases by writing to individual schools.