Higher Education Reform Debate

Full Debate: Read Full Debate
Department: Department for Education

Higher Education Reform

Greg Smith Excerpts
Monday 17th July 2023

(9 months, 3 weeks ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Watch Debate Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Gillian Keegan Portrait Gillian Keegan
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

The hon. Lady makes an interesting point, but at the moment the OfS has 18 providers under investigation for poor quality. There are many more providers, and we have a standard fee. It will look at contextual aspects such as demographics, socioeconomics and mature students. It looks at all that in context, but there are 18 providers out of a much larger number.

Greg Smith Portrait Greg Smith (Buckingham) (Con)
- View Speech - Hansard - -

The Secretary of State has my full support for the measures she has announced this afternoon. On that key mission of ensuring that students pay a fair price and get a good return for their university education, does she agree that more institutions should follow the example of the University of Buckingham, which offers fantastic two-year undergraduate degrees with staggered start points throughout the year?

Gillian Keegan Portrait Gillian Keegan
- View Speech - Hansard - - - Excerpts

Yes. The University of Buckingham has taken an excellent leadership position and its two-year degree is very much welcomed by many people. We will introduce the lifelong learning entitlement, which will revolutionise how and when people go to university, what type of courses they take, for what period of time, and how they make those decisions over their entire career and lifetime.