Lord Johnson of Marylebone

Institutions decide their academic requirements for sixth form entry.

Trends in take-up of post-16 education suggest that the increased number of young people attaining higher GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021 has contributed to a greater proportion of young people attending school sixth forms and sixth form colleges rather than general further education (FE) colleges. Higher numbers of young people attaining grade 4 or above in GCSE English and maths are likely to have resulted in a lower number of young people re-taking those examinations because of the way the requirement on institutions operates, however, we recognise that some students with these grades will still require support for their future attainment.

These trends in GCSE grades could have contributed to an increase in study at level 3 and a decrease in study at level 2 at FE colleges. Between 2019 and 2021 the number of 16-17-year-olds in FE colleges studying a level 2 qualification dropped 8.7% and the number studying a level 3 qualification increased 14.7%. This represents a 1.6% fall in the proportion of the age 16-17 population studying level 2 and a 1.4% increase in the proportion of the age 16-17 population studying level 3.

Funding for the academic year 2022/23 is based on student numbers in the academic year 2021/22. Provisional data (which excludes sixth form colleges) suggests that FE colleges had in aggregate a fall of just over 1% in their 16-19 students in 2021/22 compared with the previous year, which has had an impact on funding. However, the higher funding rates mean that despite this slight fall in student numbers, colleges will see a significant increase in funding in 2022/23. We expect to see only a small proportion of colleges with a cash reduction in 16-19 funding in 2022/23 compared with 2021/22 when allocations are published. Each year we look to put in place exceptional in-year growth funding, subject to affordability, to help providers that see a significant increase in students, and we will be looking carefully at what can be put in place to help colleges which see an increase in students in 2022/23.

Institutions decide their academic requirements for sixth form entry.

Trends in take-up of post-16 education suggest that the increased number of young people attaining higher GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021 has contributed to a greater proportion of young people attending school sixth forms and sixth form colleges rather than general further education (FE) colleges. Higher numbers of young people attaining grade 4 or above in GCSE English and maths are likely to have resulted in a lower number of young people re-taking those examinations because of the way the requirement on institutions operates, however, we recognise that some students with these grades will still require support for their future attainment.

These trends in GCSE grades could have contributed to an increase in study at level 3 and a decrease in study at level 2 at FE colleges. Between 2019 and 2021 the number of 16-17-year-olds in FE colleges studying a level 2 qualification dropped 8.7% and the number studying a level 3 qualification increased 14.7%. This represents a 1.6% fall in the proportion of the age 16-17 population studying level 2 and a 1.4% increase in the proportion of the age 16-17 population studying level 3.

Funding for the academic year 2022/23 is based on student numbers in the academic year 2021/22. Provisional data (which excludes sixth form colleges) suggests that FE colleges had in aggregate a fall of just over 1% in their 16-19 students in 2021/22 compared with the previous year, which has had an impact on funding. However, the higher funding rates mean that despite this slight fall in student numbers, colleges will see a significant increase in funding in 2022/23. We expect to see only a small proportion of colleges with a cash reduction in 16-19 funding in 2022/23 compared with 2021/22 when allocations are published. Each year we look to put in place exceptional in-year growth funding, subject to affordability, to help providers that see a significant increase in students, and we will be looking carefully at what can be put in place to help colleges which see an increase in students in 2022/23.

The Office for Students (OfS) published 'Consultation on quality and standards conditions - Analysis of responses to consultation and decision' on 2 March 2022, in response to its consultation on quality and standards conditions. This publication acknowledges that several issues were raised during the consultation about validation.

The OfS has signalled that it will consider further the operation of the validation system in England, including the extent to which OfS should use the commissioning power given to the OfS by section 50 of the Higher Education Act 2017.

We are expecting the OfS to consider a review of the validation system in the coming financial year.

The Office for Students (OfS) Register provides information on which registered providers offer validated provision, and which registered providers offer validating services.

We are expecting the OfS to consider a review of the validation system in the coming financial year and expect that review to consider the case for intervention in the validation system in order to increase the availability of high-quality courses across England.

The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 specifies that the Office for Students’ (OfS) board consists of the following members appointed by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education: a chair, the Chief Executive Officer, the Director for Fair Access and Participation, and between 7 and 12 ordinary members.

In appointing the chair and the ordinary members, the Secretary of State must also have regard to the desirability of the OfS’s members having a range of experience. The current board is therefore made up of members with a range of experience and expertise including Monisha Shah, the former chair of Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance, Monisha brings expertise and experience from a small provider perspective to the OfS board.

The OfS also works closely with Independent HE, along with other higher education sector mission groups, to understand how regulation impacts higher education providers, including the challenges for small and specialist providers.

Finally, the OfS Director for Fair Access and Participation, John Blake, for example, recognised in his speech on 8 February that smaller providers found the access and participation plan process more challenging and that the OfS will work closely with them to ensure that regulation of them is proportionate, effective and fair, John Blake's speech is available to view at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/news-blog-and-events/press-and-media/next-steps-in-access-and-participation/.

The Office for Students (OfS) published its response to its consultation on the quality and standards conditions on 2 March. This publication acknowledges that several issues were raised during the consultation about requirements on institutions seeking Degree Awarding Powers (DAPs).

We are expecting the OfS to consider a review of DAPs in the coming financial year and expect that review to consider the case for intervention in the DAPs to increase the availability of high-quality courses across England.

In addition, it is a key government priority to grow level 4 and 5 provision. We are doing more to support level 4 and 5 provision by raising the profile and prestige of level 4 and 5 courses through improved communications and information, advice, and guidance, including through the launch of a new national communications campaign in January 2022. We will also Introduce the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2025 to support a more accessible, flexible system.

The department will be continuing to roll out reforms to higher technical education to ensure that, over time, Higher Technical Qualifications (qualifications approved to deliver the skills employers need) are established as a flagship offer at level 4 and 5, including improving student finance to support learners in accessing these qualifications. Providing further funding to support providers with the upfront investments required to roll out Higher Technical Qualifications and strategic priorities grant funding to encourage and support level 4 and 5 provision.

Through the higher education reform consultation we are also seeking views on the role of the fees and funding system in growing provision and uptake of level 4 and 5 courses.

The Office for Students (OfS) published 'Consultation on quality and standards conditions - Analysis of responses to consultation and decision' on 2 March 2022, in response to its consultation on quality and standards conditions. This publication acknowledges that several issues were raised during the consultation about validation.

The OfS has signalled that it will consider further the operation of the validation system in England, including the extent to which OfS should use the commissioning power given to the OfS by section 50 of the Higher Education Act 2017.

We are expecting the OfS to consider a review of the validation system in the coming financial year.

The government’s update to the International Education Strategy, published in February 2021, sets out the importance of education partnerships and of identifying key opportunities for foreign direct investment into the United Kingdom. India is set out as a priority country for education engagement in this strategy. It is a key focus for the UK’s International Education Champion, Sir Steve Smith.

The 2030 Roadmap for India-UK future relations explicitly references education and research, and commits the department to expanding cooperation between its higher education institutions.

The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 sets out that the Office for Students (OfS) must establish and maintain a register of English higher education (HE) providers. New providers wishing to register with the OfS must be, or intend to become, an English HE provider. The OfS publishes advice and application documents for providers seeking to register on its website. This is available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/how-to-register/.

The Office for Students (OfS) considers financial sustainability and business plans when assessing providers during registration.

The OfS is planning further work on minimising regulatory burden on all providers, including those who are new and/or small, to support them to focus on high quality teaching and research. More detail on this, together with its regulatory approach, will be published later this month in the OfS’s new strategy for 2022 to 2025.

The OfS also currently minimises the impact of its regulatory approach on micro and new providers by limiting its registration fees for those providers.

The Higher Education (HE) (Registration Fees) (England) Regulations 2021 continue to contain a micro-entity exemption. This exemption protects the very smallest HE providers (employing up to 50 people) by providing a 100% registration fee exemption.

These most recent regulations also retain protections for new providers in relation to registration fees: the regulations continue to allow for the OfS to charge reduced fees to those new institutions who decide to register with it.

Validation agreements are confidential commercial contractual arrangements between two parties and so neither the Department for Education, nor the Office for Students, holds this information.

The Office for Students has offered the new degree awarding power’s (DAPs) application route since 2018. Full information on this is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/degree-awarding-powers/.

Information about the new DAPs option for providers is also included in the regulatory framework, which was published in 2018.

The Office for Students (OfS) holds data on validation arrangements although this is dependent on the reliability of data submitted to the Higher Education Statistics Agency and Individual Learner Record to remain data collections. Previous inaccuracies in the data and other changes in the sector such as mergers between providers and providers leaving the higher education sector means that it is not possible to provide meaningful information over a 5- year period.

In 2020/21 the OfS reports that:

• 92 OfS-registered providers have been identified as the awarding body for other providers’ students, i.e. appeared to be offering validation services in 2020/21.
• 310 OfS-registered providers identify another entity as the awarding body for some or all of their students i.e. appear to be utilising validation services in 2020/21.

It should be noted that providers may start and exit validation arrangements as they see fit and are free to negotiate these contracts between themselves. As a result, the OfS cannot accurately determine precisely how many higher education providers have offered validation services, only how many have current validation arrangements in 2020/21.

Action 6 of the International Education Strategy 2021 update focuses on the employability of international students. Sector representatives are collaborating to build an understanding of the UK’s skills needs, international labour markets, and barriers to international graduate employability. They will also share examples of best practice across the sector.

The department supports these efforts by expanding data resources available in relation to international student graduate outcomes. My noble Friend will be aware from recent answers to Questions HL5793 and HL5795 that the department now publishes employment and study outcomes one, three, five, and ten years after graduation for all international students who remain in the UK after study and contribute to the UK economy.

Graduate outcomes surveys are carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This includes international graduates surveys. In response to my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Higher and Further Education’s announcements on reducing bureaucracy for the higher education sector in September 2020 and lowering the cost to providers of participating in HESA data collections, there has been some scaling back of HESA’s graduate outcomes survey methodology. This impacts 2020/21 academic year graduates. The survey will be published in spring 2023.

Non-EU international graduates will continue to participate in the survey. The process of contacting international graduates by telephone, if they have not already participated online, is discontinued. This has resulted in a lowering of the subscription cost of graduate outcomes to higher education providers by approximately £350,000. HESA continues to explore and implement strategies aimed at increasing online response rates.

The value of the HESA graduate outcomes survey data is not solely determined by its response rates. The current response rate target for the survey of international graduates is at 20%. This is high for social surveys. Over the last three years, the survey has achieved on average a 30% response rate for this group. This is 5 percentage points above the previous target. Around half of these responses were collected over the telephone.

Conclusions drawn on the international graduate outcomes will be driven by how representative the students who respond to the survey are of the overall student population. The Office for Students intends to undertake research looking at the outcomes for international students. It will re-introduce telephone contact, should it significantly impact the conclusions that can be drawn from the data.

Action 6 of the International Education Strategy 2021 update focuses on the employability of international students. Sector representatives are collaborating to build an understanding of the UK’s skills needs, international labour markets, and barriers to international graduate employability. They will also share examples of best practice across the sector.

The department supports these efforts by expanding data resources available in relation to international student graduate outcomes. My noble Friend will be aware from recent answers to Questions HL5793 and HL5795 that the department now publishes employment and study outcomes one, three, five, and ten years after graduation for all international students who remain in the UK after study and contribute to the UK economy.

Graduate outcomes surveys are carried out by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). This includes international graduates surveys. In response to my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Higher and Further Education’s announcements on reducing bureaucracy for the higher education sector in September 2020 and lowering the cost to providers of participating in HESA data collections, there has been some scaling back of HESA’s graduate outcomes survey methodology. This impacts 2020/21 academic year graduates. The survey will be published in spring 2023.

Non-EU international graduates will continue to participate in the survey. The process of contacting international graduates by telephone, if they have not already participated online, is discontinued. This has resulted in a lowering of the subscription cost of graduate outcomes to higher education providers by approximately £350,000. HESA continues to explore and implement strategies aimed at increasing online response rates.

The value of the HESA graduate outcomes survey data is not solely determined by its response rates. The current response rate target for the survey of international graduates is at 20%. This is high for social surveys. Over the last three years, the survey has achieved on average a 30% response rate for this group. This is 5 percentage points above the previous target. Around half of these responses were collected over the telephone.

Conclusions drawn on the international graduate outcomes will be driven by how representative the students who respond to the survey are of the overall student population. The Office for Students intends to undertake research looking at the outcomes for international students. It will re-introduce telephone contact, should it significantly impact the conclusions that can be drawn from the data.

The department will continue to fund a range of qualifications similar to current applied general qualifications. These can be taken alongside and as alternatives to A levels where they are necessary, high-quality and support progression to higher education. Through the post-16 qualifications review, these qualifications will need to meet new quality criteria to ensure they are well-designed and have strong progression value to be funded in future. This means that students, employers, and universities can have confidence in their value.

The moratorium on approving new qualifications at level 3 and below for public funding for students aged 16 and over in England was introduced in September 2020. It was introduced for a period of three years, subject to annual review, and is intended to stabilise the publicly funded qualifications offer before wider reform is implemented. There are two exemptions to the moratorium. These are for qualifications developed in response to economic need and where qualification content has been updated to keep it relevant.

Qualifications which meet these two exemption criteria continue to be approved for funding. The Education, Skills and Funding Agency is due to confirm ongoing arrangements linked to the moratorium in March 2022.

The current moratorium is not intended to constrain the design or delivery of new qualifications where they meet the exemption criteria. The moratorium exemption criteria allow awarding organisations to design qualifications in response to two situations. The first is employer need, for instance in response to regional skills need or a new job role. The second is to meet learner need, for instance ensuring the content of the qualification the student is undertaking remains relevant and current.

These criteria should not prohibit awarding organisations in being innovative in how they design qualifications to meet new skills needs or update their qualifications to ensure students are undertaking relevant content. The current moratorium allows awarding organisations to submit a new qualification for funding approval where it has been designed in response to economic need (this is known as a type 3 exemption). Qualifications submitted under this exemption may be approved where appropriate evidence of economic need is submitted, and the qualification meets all other approval criteria.

Since the start of the moratorium, 40 qualifications have been submitted under the exemption type 3 criteria and 16 have been approved.

The moratorium on approving new qualifications at level 3 and below for public funding for students aged 16 and over in England was introduced in September 2020. It was introduced for a period of three years, subject to annual review, and is intended to stabilise the publicly funded qualifications offer before wider reform is implemented. There are two exemptions to the moratorium. These are for qualifications developed in response to economic need and where qualification content has been updated to keep it relevant.

Qualifications which meet these two exemption criteria continue to be approved for funding. The Education, Skills and Funding Agency is due to confirm ongoing arrangements linked to the moratorium in March 2022.

The current moratorium is not intended to constrain the design or delivery of new qualifications where they meet the exemption criteria. The moratorium exemption criteria allow awarding organisations to design qualifications in response to two situations. The first is employer need, for instance in response to regional skills need or a new job role. The second is to meet learner need, for instance ensuring the content of the qualification the student is undertaking remains relevant and current.

These criteria should not prohibit awarding organisations in being innovative in how they design qualifications to meet new skills needs or update their qualifications to ensure students are undertaking relevant content. The current moratorium allows awarding organisations to submit a new qualification for funding approval where it has been designed in response to economic need (this is known as a type 3 exemption). Qualifications submitted under this exemption may be approved where appropriate evidence of economic need is submitted, and the qualification meets all other approval criteria.

Since the start of the moratorium, 40 qualifications have been submitted under the exemption type 3 criteria and 16 have been approved.

The moratorium on approving new qualifications at level 3 and below for public funding for students aged 16 and over in England was introduced in September 2020. It was introduced for a period of three years, subject to annual review, and is intended to stabilise the publicly funded qualifications offer before wider reform is implemented. There are two exemptions to the moratorium. These are for qualifications developed in response to economic need and where qualification content has been updated to keep it relevant.

Qualifications which meet these two exemption criteria continue to be approved for funding. The Education, Skills and Funding Agency is due to confirm ongoing arrangements linked to the moratorium in March 2022.

The current moratorium is not intended to constrain the design or delivery of new qualifications where they meet the exemption criteria. The moratorium exemption criteria allow awarding organisations to design qualifications in response to two situations. The first is employer need, for instance in response to regional skills need or a new job role. The second is to meet learner need, for instance ensuring the content of the qualification the student is undertaking remains relevant and current.

These criteria should not prohibit awarding organisations in being innovative in how they design qualifications to meet new skills needs or update their qualifications to ensure students are undertaking relevant content. The current moratorium allows awarding organisations to submit a new qualification for funding approval where it has been designed in response to economic need (this is known as a type 3 exemption). Qualifications submitted under this exemption may be approved where appropriate evidence of economic need is submitted, and the qualification meets all other approval criteria.

Since the start of the moratorium, 40 qualifications have been submitted under the exemption type 3 criteria and 16 have been approved.

The department is committed to ensuring students have access to high quality industry placements and have provided an extensive programme of employer and provider support to help with the delivery and scale up of placements. We have invested £200 million over the past four years to help providers build their capacity and networks with employers to deliver high quality placements and we have published practical industry placement delivery guidance for both education providers and employers. We also have comprehensive packages of support in place for both providers and employers, which offer them tailored advice and hands-on support to deliver high-quality placements.

To ensure access to placements, we have implemented several different delivery models to ensure placements are accessible and meaningful for all students, across all industries and locations. We are also engaging directly with employers through the department’s employer engagement teams to provide a strong pipeline of employers for the future, across all sectors and across the country, ready to offer placements. We have established a T Level employer ambassador network to engage with others in their industries on T Levels and placements, and our communications campaigns are continuing to raise the profile of T Levels and industry placements to an employer audience.

We will continue to monitor placement provision and work closely with providers and employers to identify any potential barriers to the delivery of placements for each of the T Levels, including access, and identify appropriate mitigations.

We are committed to ensuring every T Level student completes a high-quality industry placement, which involves genuine and meaningful experience working with employers.

We are monitoring the delivery of T Level industry placements to make sure that the first two cohorts of T Level students have a full placement secured but we are currently not collecting, nor planning to collect, data on what proportion of placement hours students are spending in a workplace setting. We have introduced some temporary industry placement flexibilities for the first two cohorts of T Level students in direct response to the delivery challenges caused by the COVID-19 outbreak. This will ensure that students can successfully complete their industry placement and therefore pass their T Level. This includes allowing some of the placement hours to be delivered remotely. We have been clear that these flexibilities are to be used by exception only, that they are temporary and that the provision of in-person placements remains the expectation.

The government does not currently have plans to request the Office for Students (OfS) to publish a code of practice governing universities’ use of recruitment agents and sub-agents.

As set out in the International Education Strategy, the government is committed to working with the sector to enhance international student experience with specific actions that aim to make the application process clearer with more accessible information for potential students.

A range of resources are available to higher education (HE) providers working with agents, such as the British Council good practice guidance and the London statement. Both are available here: https://www.britishcouncil.org/education/education-agents/good-practice-guidance-uk-information. The British Universities’ International Liaison Association also supports the professional and personal development of HE staff members with training events, including on the topic of working with agents. This information is available at: https://www.buila.ac.uk/training.

The department is working closely with partners including the OfS and UCAS to prevent, detect and deter fraud within the HE sector.

The department publishes information about the earnings of international graduates from English higher education (HE) providers and colleges who remain in the UK for employment one, three, five and ten years after graduating from a first degree in its annual Graduate Outcomes (LEO)[1] publication. Latest available data refers to outcomes in the 2018-19 financial year and are published in Table 45 at the following link: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo/2018-19.

Table 1 in the attached spreadsheet summarises the earnings outcomes of international first degree graduates from English HE providers and colleges one year after graduation for the past five tax years. Data is only published for the 2014-15 financial year onwards.

The department also publishes employment outcomes and earnings for international postgraduates from English HE institutions in the Graduate Outcomes (LEO): Postgraduate outcomes[2] publication. Table 2 in the attached spreadsheet summarises the outcomes of international level 7 (taught and research) and level 8 postgraduates of English HE institutions, one year after graduation for the past five tax years. Data is only published for the 2014/15 financial year onwards.

The government values the positive, significant economic contribution international students make during and post study. No official numerical estimate is held by the department.

The graduate route provides greater incentives for international students to work in the UK post-study. The linked graduate route’s impact assessment, available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/966659/Graduate_Route_Impact_Assessment.pdf, shows that while on the graduate route, graduates will be able to work and look for work, which is expected to generate income to the Exchequer from direct and indirect tax contributions. This is estimated to lead to a benefit to public finances of between £6.7 and £15.2 billion with a central estimate of £10.7 billion (10-year present value, 2021/22 financial year prices).

[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo/2018-19

[2] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo-postgraduate-outcomes

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects and publishes data on the outcomes of graduates 15 months after qualifying from higher education in the Graduate Outcomes (GO) survey. This survey is unique in that it collects detailed information from the individual about their employment or further study, which allows HESA to determine the industry and occupation of employment. Further information about the survey is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/graduates.

The survey results include information on the outcomes of graduates who were domiciled overseas prior to study. For those remaining in the UK, the industry and occupation of employment is available in the GO Open Data here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/graduates/table-19 and https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/graduates/table-22.

Information is available for graduates in academic years 2017/18 and 2018/19. Counts in the tables are of survey respondents rather than all members of graduating cohorts. In 2018/19, the response rate, including partial survey responses, was 51% and 34% for EU and non-EU domiciled graduates respectively. Further statistics can be found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb260/figure-3. Breakdowns by country of nationality are not published.

Prior to 2017/18, HESA collected data on the outcomes of graduates 6 months after qualifying from higher education in the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey. Data from this survey series are available in HESA’s publication archive, found here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications#destinations-leavers-higher-education.

Though non-EU international graduates were invited to take part in the survey, the level of response was not considered suitable for publication.

As set out in the government’s International Education Strategy, we are committed to growing the value of education exports with two key ambitions to achieve by 2030: increasing education exports to £35 billion per year, and hosting at least 600,000 international higher education students in the UK per year.

We are making good progress against these ambitions. In 2019, total UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity was estimated to be £25.2 billion, an increase of 8.1% since 2018 in current prices. The ambition for international students was met for the first time in the academic year 2020/21 with 605,130 international students studying in the UK.

Promoting and sustaining the growth of education exports and international student numbers remains a priority for this government. We have committed to review progress regularly against the strategy and we will keep the strategy and its ambitions under review.

As set out in government’s International Education Strategy (IES), we are committed to growing the value of education exports with two key ambitions to achieve by 2030: increasing education exports to £35 billion per year, and hosting at least 600,000 international higher education students in the UK per year.

We are making good progress against these ambitions. For example, the international students ambition was met for the first time in the academic year 2020/21 with 605,130 international students studying in the UK.

The government continues to work with the sector to enhance international student experience, from application to employment, as well as promoting and sustaining the growth of education exports and international student numbers. The actions set out in strategy include items relating to the student application process, graduate outcomes and employability, academic experience for international students and alternative student finance opportunities. We have committed to review progress regularly against the IES and its ambitions.

The Office for Students (OfS) published consultations on improving the quality of higher education (HE) in England on 20 January and set out in detail the numerical thresholds which will underpin minimum acceptable student outcomes.

International students studying at English HE providers are included in the proposed student outcome measures on continuation and completion rates. If the proposals are adopted, the performance of international students studying at registered higher education providers in England will be considered as part of the OfS’ regulatory assessments. The OfS is not proposing at this stage to include international students in the measures on progression to graduate employment or further study owing to the continuing difficulty in securing a high response rate in surveys for this subset of graduates.

Our HE sector is world class but, in line with the government’s manifesto commitment, we are taking serious steps with the OfS to drive up the quality of HE across the sector and to tackle the unacceptable pockets of poor-quality provision which do not offer value for money for the taxpayer or students.

Universities and colleges not meeting these minimum expectations will face investigation and consideration of whether they are in breach of their registration conditions, which could lead to sanctions, including fines and reduced access to student finance. These minimum levels are just one factor the OfS will consider. As is currently the case, and as described in the consultation document, the OfS will continue to consider a provider’s wider context, including its student characteristics, before making any final decisions on compliance with registration conditions.

This government believes that every student, regardless of background, deserves quality and transparency from their university or provider about their course. These measures are about tackling low quality, and, through the revised Teaching and Excellence Framework, rewarding high quality, and ensuring transparency which, overall, will maintain confidence in our HE sector.

The department publishes data about international graduates from English higher education (HE) providers and colleges who remain in the UK for employment or study one, three, five and ten years after graduating from a first degree in its annual Graduate Outcomes (LEO)[1] publication. Latest available data for international first degree graduates refer to outcomes in the 2018-19 financial year and are published in Table 45 here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo/2018-19.

Table 1 in the attached spreadsheet summarises the outcomes of international first degree graduates from English HE providers and colleges one year after graduation for the past five tax years. Data is only published for financial year 2014-15 onwards.

The department also publishes employment outcomes and earnings for international postgraduates from English HE institutions in the LEO: Postgraduate outcomes[2] publication. Table 2 in the attached spreadsheet summarises the outcomes of international level 7 (taught and research) and level 8 postgraduates of English HE institutions, one year after graduation for the past five tax years. Data is only published for financial year 2014-15 onwards.

In the attachment, minor methodological adjustments were made to the published LEO percentage outcome calculations so that graduates in sustained employment, further study or both in the UK are given as a proportion of all graduates (published LEO calculations exclude those identified by the Department for Work and Pensions records as overseas from the denominator).

The publications also include breakdowns of graduates by country but focus on the 20 countries with the highest number of graduates in the 2016/17 academic year. These are available in Table 53 and Table 25 of the respective publications.

Another important data source that measures the outcomes of graduates from the UK HE system is the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s Graduate Outcomes survey. This includes supplementary information about graduate outcomes, such as details of their employment destinations. Further information about the survey is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/graduates.

[1] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo/2018-19.

[2] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo-postgraduate-outcomes.

The department publishes data about international graduates from English higher education providers and colleges who remain in the UK for employment or study one, three, five and ten years after graduating from a first degree in its annual Graduate Outcomes (LEO) publication. Latest available data refer to outcomes in the 2018-19 tax year and are published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo/2018-19.

The department also publishes employment outcomes and earnings for international postgraduates from English higher education institutions in the Graduate Outcomes (LEO): Postgraduate outcomes publication. Latest available data refer to outcomes in the 2018-19 tax year and are published here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-outcomes-leo-postgraduate-outcomes.

Another important data source that measures the outcomes of graduates from the UK higher education system is the Higher Education Statistics Agency’s Graduate Outcomes survey. This data gives a more rounded picture of graduate destinations than LEO data as it includes those employed or studying overseas. Further information about that survey is available here: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/graduates.

As set out in the government’s International Education Strategy, we are committed to growing the value of education exports with two key ambitions to achieve by 2030: increasing education exports to £35 billion per year, and hosting at least 600,000 international higher education students in the UK per year.

We are making good progress against these ambitions. In 2019, total UK revenue from education related exports and transnational education activity was estimated to be £25.2 billion, an increase of 8.1% since 2018 in current prices. The ambition for international students was met for the first time in the academic year 2020/21 with 605,130 international students studying in the UK.

Promoting and sustaining the growth of education exports and international student numbers remains a priority for this government. We have committed to review progress regularly against the strategy and we will keep the strategy and its ambitions under review.

The Home Office continues to welcome international students and we place no limit on their numbers.

In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

New sponsors can apply for an allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) of up to 50 percent of their current student body. Subsequent annual requests can be made for up to a 50 percent increase on a CAS allocation for sponsors who have assigned more than 50 CAS in the previous year.

There is no upper limit on the number of CAS which can be allocated across the system, or the number of providers able to gain a sponsor licence. Sponsors are able to submit additional in-year requests on an exceptional basis and there are no limits on the total number of CAS to be allocated in any given year. These requirements are set out in the published Student Sponsor guidance.

In the case of R (on the application of New London College Limited) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) the Supreme Court found the general principle of mandatory requirements for sponsors and actions they must take to maintain a licence were ruled to be lawful and derived from the authority of the Immigration Act 1971, which would include requirements on the numbers of CAS allocated to sponsors.

Data on CAS allocations for specific institutions is not currently published. However, we do produce data at detailed sponsorship dataset which breaks down the numbers of CAS used by types of educational institution.

The Home Office continues to welcome international students and we place no limit on their numbers.

In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

New sponsors can apply for an allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) of up to 50 percent of their current student body. Subsequent annual requests can be made for up to a 50 percent increase on a CAS allocation for sponsors who have assigned more than 50 CAS in the previous year.

There is no upper limit on the number of CAS which can be allocated across the system, or the number of providers able to gain a sponsor licence. Sponsors are able to submit additional in-year requests on an exceptional basis and there are no limits on the total number of CAS to be allocated in any given year. These requirements are set out in the published Student Sponsor guidance.

In the case of R (on the application of New London College Limited) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) the Supreme Court found the general principle of mandatory requirements for sponsors and actions they must take to maintain a licence were ruled to be lawful and derived from the authority of the Immigration Act 1971, which would include requirements on the numbers of CAS allocated to sponsors.

Data on CAS allocations for specific institutions is not currently published. However, we do produce data at detailed sponsorship dataset which breaks down the numbers of CAS used by types of educational institution.

The Home Office continues to welcome international students and we place no limit on their numbers.

In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

New sponsors can apply for an allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) of up to 50 percent of their current student body. Subsequent annual requests can be made for up to a 50 percent increase on a CAS allocation for sponsors who have assigned more than 50 CAS in the previous year.

There is no upper limit on the number of CAS which can be allocated across the system, or the number of providers able to gain a sponsor licence. Sponsors are able to submit additional in-year requests on an exceptional basis and there are no limits on the total number of CAS to be allocated in any given year. These requirements are set out in the published Student Sponsor guidance.

In the case of R (on the application of New London College Limited) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) the Supreme Court found the general principle of mandatory requirements for sponsors and actions they must take to maintain a licence were ruled to be lawful and derived from the authority of the Immigration Act 1971, which would include requirements on the numbers of CAS allocated to sponsors.

Data on CAS allocations for specific institutions is not currently published. However, we do produce data at detailed sponsorship dataset which breaks down the numbers of CAS used by types of educational institution.

The Home Office continues to welcome international students and we place no limit on their numbers.

In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

New sponsors can apply for an allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) of up to 50 percent of their current student body. Subsequent annual requests can be made for up to a 50 percent increase on a CAS allocation for sponsors who have assigned more than 50 CAS in the previous year.

There is no upper limit on the number of CAS which can be allocated across the system, or the number of providers able to gain a sponsor licence. Sponsors are able to submit additional in-year requests on an exceptional basis and there are no limits on the total number of CAS to be allocated in any given year. These requirements are set out in the published Student Sponsor guidance.

In the case of R (on the application of New London College Limited) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) the Supreme Court found the general principle of mandatory requirements for sponsors and actions they must take to maintain a licence were ruled to be lawful and derived from the authority of the Immigration Act 1971, which would include requirements on the numbers of CAS allocated to sponsors.

Data on CAS allocations for specific institutions is not currently published. However, we do produce data at detailed sponsorship dataset which breaks down the numbers of CAS used by types of educational institution.

The Home Office continues to welcome international students and we place no limit on their numbers.

In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

New sponsors can apply for an allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) of up to 50 percent of their current student body. Subsequent annual requests can be made for up to a 50 percent increase on a CAS allocation for sponsors who have assigned more than 50 CAS in the previous year.

There is no upper limit on the number of CAS which can be allocated across the system, or the number of providers able to gain a sponsor licence. Sponsors are able to submit additional in-year requests on an exceptional basis and there are no limits on the total number of CAS to be allocated in any given year. These requirements are set out in the published Student Sponsor guidance.

In the case of R (on the application of New London College Limited) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) the Supreme Court found the general principle of mandatory requirements for sponsors and actions they must take to maintain a licence were ruled to be lawful and derived from the authority of the Immigration Act 1971, which would include requirements on the numbers of CAS allocated to sponsors.

Data on CAS allocations for specific institutions is not currently published. However, we do produce data at detailed sponsorship dataset which breaks down the numbers of CAS used by types of educational institution.

The Home Office continues to welcome international students and we place no limit on their numbers.

In February 2021, the UK Government published an update to the International Education Strategy, recommitting to the ambitions to sustainably increase international students in the UK to 600,000 per year by 2030.

New sponsors can apply for an allocation of Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies (CAS) of up to 50 percent of their current student body. Subsequent annual requests can be made for up to a 50 percent increase on a CAS allocation for sponsors who have assigned more than 50 CAS in the previous year.

There is no upper limit on the number of CAS which can be allocated across the system, or the number of providers able to gain a sponsor licence. Sponsors are able to submit additional in-year requests on an exceptional basis and there are no limits on the total number of CAS to be allocated in any given year. These requirements are set out in the published Student Sponsor guidance.

In the case of R (on the application of New London College Limited) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent) the Supreme Court found the general principle of mandatory requirements for sponsors and actions they must take to maintain a licence were ruled to be lawful and derived from the authority of the Immigration Act 1971, which would include requirements on the numbers of CAS allocated to sponsors.

Data on CAS allocations for specific institutions is not currently published. However, we do produce data at detailed sponsorship dataset which breaks down the numbers of CAS used by types of educational institution.