Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans he has to relax the Office for Students’ registration requirements.

The Office for Students (OfS) as the independent regulator of higher education in England sets conditions of registration for entry onto its register. All English higher education providers are required to be registered by the OfS if they want their students to be able to access tuition fees and maintenance loans.

As outlined in the recent consultation on its strategy for 2022 to 2025, the OfS is exploring ways to support new entrants to the sector by reviewing its approach to granting registration and degree awarding powers. This will include looking at the resources available to prospective providers and considering whether new categories of registration would be helpful, without lowering the world leading quality and standards of English higher education.