Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 July (HL8602), what plans they have, if any, to conduct a survey on the integrity of university examinations, including the use of examination adjustments arising from claims of self-assessed neurodivergence.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Universities have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students where necessary. Reasonable adjustments are offered at the discretion of the university based on an assessment of a student's individual needs.
In England, the management of university exams is guided by a combination of national regulatory bodies, university-specific policies and sector-wide frameworks.
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for higher education in England. While it does not set specific exam rules, its conditions of registration ensure that universities maintain high academic standards and fair assessment practices. It requires institutions to uphold principles of fairness, transparency and accessibility in assessments.
The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education provides the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, outlining expectations for academic standards and quality. This includes guidance on assessment design, marking and academic integrity.
Each university is autonomous and sets its own assessment regulations, including:
The department does not have evidence which suggests that reasonable adjustments are impacting the integrity of exams or assessments and have no current plans to conduct a survey on the integrity of university examinations.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what proportion of care leavers between the ages of 18 to 21 (1) die, (2) die by suicide, (3) have a mental health disorder, (4) have been sexually abused, and (5) are out of education, training or employment.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Information on the number of care leavers is submitted to the department on an annual basis and is published in our statistical release, which can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.
The department publishes figures on the number of care leavers who have died in this age range in the methodology document accompanying this statistical release in the section ‘Data Quality and Uses’ (‘Care leavers aged 17, 18, 19, 20 or 21 years’). Information for 2022 to 2024 can be found in the attached table 1.
The department does not hold information centrally on the cause of death, the mental health of the care leaver or any details of past history of sexual abuse.
The total number of 18 to 21-year-old care leavers and the number and proportion of care leavers who are not in education, training and employment is shown in table 2.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether self-identification as neurodivergent leads cheating in university examinations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department does not have evidence to suggest that university students are using self-declaration of neurodiversity to cheat or gain unneeded leniency in exams or assessments.
Universities provide support for neurodiverse students to ensure they have equal opportunities to succeed. This includes reasonable adjustments such as extra time in exams or alternative assessment methods.
To receive this type of support, students typically need to provide evidence of their neurodivergence and how it would impair their ability to complete certain activities. This process helps ensure that only those who genuinely need support receive it.
Universities are increasingly aware of the need to support neurodiverse students appropriately. This includes training staff to recognise and support students with neurodiverse conditions. The focus is on providing fair and necessary support to students who need it.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of whether the use of artificial intelligence leads to cheating in university examinations.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
Cheating of any kind is unacceptable. It threatens to undermine the reputation of our world-class higher education (HE) sector and devalues the hard work of those who succeed on their own merit.
Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for decisions such as admissions, diversity of provision, course content, teaching and assessment. As such, they are responsible for designing and implementing their own policies and approaches to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and for taking steps to detect and prevent any form of academic misconduct by students, including the misuse of AI, as set out in the Office for Students’ (OfS) regulatory framework.
The experience and expertise of the sector is contributing to the department’s evidence base for how generative AI is used in education. In January 2024, the department published research entitled ‘Generative AI in education: Educator and expert views’ containing insights from interviews with teachers and experts in HE and the education technology industry. The full research paper is attached and also available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65b8cd41b5cb6e000d8bb74e/DfE_GenAI_in_education_-_Educator_and_expert_views_report.pdf.
The OfS set out its approach to the use of AI in HE in a recent blog post entitled ‘Embracing innovation in higher education: our approach to artificial intelligence’. The full blog post is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/blog/embracing-innovation-in-higher-education-our-approach-to-artificial-intelligence/.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 30 May (HL7441), what assessment have they made of whether making adjustments in the assessment and marking of work by students who self-declare the conditions referenced is "reasonable" when compared to those who do not.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department does not directly influence how universities assess a student's work. Universities have autonomy over their assessment methods and academic standards.
The Office for Students (OfS), established under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, regulates higher education providers in England. It ensures that universities meet certain standards for teaching quality, student outcomes and financial sustainability. While the OfS sets the regulatory framework, universities retain the freedom to design and implement their own assessment methods.
The OfS requires universities to meet certain standards for accessibility and support for disabled students. This includes making reasonable adjustments in assessments to ensure that disabled students are not disadvantaged. These adjustments can include alternative formats for exams, extended deadlines, and other accommodations tailored to individual needs.
While universities retain autonomy over their specific assessment methods, they must comply with these broader regulatory requirements to ensure fair and equitable treatment of disabled students. This is also supported by guidance provided as part of the Disabled Student Commitment scheme launched by the Disabled Students' Commission.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 May (HL6802), how many higher education students self-assessed as having a learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia, AD(H)D, social/communication conditions such as a speech and language impairment, or an autistic spectrum condition in each year since 2015; and how many assessment results took these conditions into account, in each year since 2015.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The numbers of students declaring the conditions referenced are published in detail on the Higher Education Statistics Agency website here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-15.
The ways in which higher education providers (HEPs) best support these students is based on the individual needs of the student.
HEPs have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students. Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HEPs. They are also entitled to reasonable adjustments in the assessment and marking of their work to ensure that they are not disadvantaged. Students should discuss their needs, provide any appropriate evidence and work with the university's support services to identify and implement suitable adjustments.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available for eligible students in addition to the reasonable adjustments made by HEPs for the provision of more specialist support, such as ergonomic equipment and assistive software. To be eligible for DSA, students must be eligible for higher education student finance and must have a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 14 April (HL6368), what estimate they have made of the number of university students who self-identify as neurodivergent.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
There is no set category for ‘neurodivergence’, so included in this figure are higher education (HE) student enrolments flagged as ‘Learning difference such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or AD(H)D’ and ‘Social/communication conditions such as a speech and language impairment or an autistic spectrum condition’.
Across all levels and modes of study and all domiciles, 245,810 HE student enrolments self-assessed in this way for the 2023/24 academic year across all UK HE providers.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the use of artificial intelligence to cheat during university examinations in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The government has not made an assessment of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to cheat during university examinations in England. The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for universities.
Universities are independent and autonomous bodies responsible for designing their own policies regarding the use of AI and for taking steps to prevent academic misconduct.
As the independent regulator for higher education (HE) in England, the OfS places conditions of registration on HE providers that are designed to protect students. Condition B4 covers fair and effective assessments, as well as tackling academic misconduct.
Where it detects that a provider is at risk of breaching its conditions of registration, the OfS has the power to investigate and impose sanctions where appropriate.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Office for Students in protecting the interests of university students self-identifying as neurodivergent.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England and aims to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of HE that enriches their life and career.
The OfS is committed to supporting an inclusive experience of HE for disabled students and uses a range of regulatory tools in order to identify issues and support continuous improvement.
The OfS uses access and participation plans to support and challenge the HE sector to improve equality of opportunity. These are agreements that set out how universities and colleges will improve equality of opportunity for disadvantaged groups, including learners with learning difficulties or disabilities, to access, succeed in and progress from HE.
In the summer, we will set out our plan for HE reform and the part we expect HE providers to play in improving access and outcomes for all disadvantaged students.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of support for profoundly deaf students in higher education in England.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The department wants to break down the barriers to opportunity, ensuring that people of all ages and backgrounds can undertake activities which provide them with the skills and knowledge to support them throughout their education and into employment.
Higher education providers (HEPs) have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students. Wherever possible, disabled students should expect to have their needs met through inclusive learning practices and individual reasonable adjustments made by their HEPs.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is available to help students with the additional costs they may face in higher education (HE) because of their disability.
DSA can be used for the purchase of specialist equipment, for travel or to pay for non-medical help, which is the human support provided to students to enable them to access their studies. DSA is not means tested and does not have to be repaid.
DSA support for deaf students can include, for example, British Sign Language support, a specialist notetaker, computers, assistive software and specialist equipment, such as radio aids.
All HEPs registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan (APP) approved by the Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS. APPs articulate how HEPS will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups. HEPs should consider the Equality of Opportunity Risk Register published by the OfS which details 12 key risks to equality of opportunity within HE and the student groups most at risk, including disabled students.