Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, what responsibilities the Office of Students will have to uphold the consumer rights of students.

Higher education providers (HEPs) can have responsibilities under consumer law, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which should be discharged fully, and policies and procedures should be in place to comply with the law. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance to help HEPs understand and meet their obligations under consumer law. This guidance sets out that students should have access to clear, specific and timely information; understandable, fair and transparent terms and conditions; and clear and fair complaints handling processes.

The government published a consultation on behalf of the new Office for Students (OfS) regarding the regulation of the higher education sector, which closed on the 22 December 2017. The consultation includes a proposal that the OfS will require registered higher education providers in the approved and approved (fee cap) categories to demonstrate that, in developing their policies and procedures governing their contractual and other relationships with students, they have given due regard to relevant guidance, such as that of CMA, as to how to comply with consumer law. A response will be published in due course.