Higher Education (Transparency Condition and Financial Support) (England) Regulations 2018 — House of Lords, 2018-07-24
Topic: Education
James Younger (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, my purpose here today is to speak to draft regulations that encompass two keys elements of the Higher Education and Research Act, or HERA, as I shall refer to it, which require approval. I turn first to Section 9, the transparency condition There has been considerable progress in widening the access and success of students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups into higher education. University application rates for 18 year-olds to full-time study remain at record levels, according to data published by UCAS earlier this month, and the proportion of disadvantaged 18 year-olds entering full-time higher education has increased from 13.6 per cent in 2009 to 20.4 per cent in 2017. However, there is more that could and should be done to fulfil our aim that anyone with the talent and potential to benefit from higher education will be able to do so, particularly on the progress of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to the most selective institutions, and the outcomes, including the retention and attainment of some groups of students. We want to see progress made and have charged the new regulator, the Office for Students, to lead that The introduction of the transparency duty through Section 9 of the Higher Education and Research Act is a key measure that will support the OfS in making the further progress we wish to see. This duty requires certain higher education providers to publish information on application, offer, acceptance, completion and attainment rates of students, which can be broken down by ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic background. The duty will apply to all providers registered with the OfS, including both those in the approved and approved fee cap parts of the register. It will ensure that data, similar to that released by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge on admissions recently in anticipation of this duty, is available from August 2019. That greater transparency will shine a spotlight on where higher education providers need to do more to widen the access and success of students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups The duty also requires that the information is provided to the OfS. That will help the OfS to assess the performance of providers in terms of access, student success and progression. To ensure that we see progress, the OfS will be able to take action if a provider does not comply with its obligations, including on the access and participation of students from disadvantaged and underrepresented groups. The OfS has access to a range of interventions and sanctions which incentivise improvements. This can include placing additional registration conditions on providers, suspending providers from the OfS register, and, if necessary, imposing monetary penalties on a provider I recall that the duty was broadly welcomed by noble Lords during the passage of HERA. At that time the Government gave a commitment that the OfS would be asked to undertake a consultation in respect of additional data it might request on applicants and students with additional protected characteristics, such as disability and age. I am pleased to be able to report to the House that we have asked the OfS to undertake that consultation, and it has announced that it will do so through publishing a formal consultation and holding consultation events later this year.