Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Minister for Universities, Science, Research and Innovation of 19 July 2017, Official Report, Col 893, what assessment her Department has made of the effect of buoyant labour markets on the number of students entering part-time higher education in England.

The factors that influence the number of students that enter higher education part-time are complex. External studies have explored the connection between the state of the labour market and the number of people studying in higher education part-time.

Government is taking steps to help people who want to study part-time, enabling individuals to gain new skills and advance their careers, and supporting the wider economy. We introduced tuition fee loans for part-time students in 2012/13 and will be offering part-time maintenance loans from 2018/19.