Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions Ministers or officials of her Department have had with the Chief Executive of the Student Loans Company on protections for higher education students enrolled with private providers.

All higher education providers are autonomous and privately run. This includes Higher Education Funding Council for England funded higher education institutions and alternative providers, which can be designated for student support purposes by the department. At the same time, some privately run institutions may be subject to obligations imposed on public authorities (e.g. the Freedom of Information Act 2000). As a result of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the Office for Students will regulate all registered English higher education providers through its regulatory framework, which is currently being consulted on.

Officials from the department have frequent meetings with the Student Loans Company to discuss the operation and performance of the Student Loan system. These include attendance at regular formal Board and Governance meetings by senior officials. In addition, there is regular operational engagement at official level on issues, trends and investigations.