Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, assessment he has made of the value of Uni Connect to higher education outreach.

The Uni Connect programme, operated by the Office for Students (OfS), brings together 29 partnerships of universities, colleges, and other local partners. It offers activities, advice, and information on the benefits and realities of going to university or college in areas of low or unexplained gaps in higher education participation.

Uni Connect was set up in 2017 as a four-year programme to support the government’s social mobility goals. This was to rapidly increase the number of young people from underrepresented groups going into higher education.

Since its establishment, the programme has played a successful role in supporting local partnerships, engaging hard to reach students, and targeting cold spots in outreach effectively.

The OfS consulted on a new approach to the Uni Connect programme from academic year 2021/22 to 2024/25. Proposals set out a future approach to targeting high-priority schools and colleges and giving greater focus to progression from non-traditional routes into and through higher education, including through further education and among mature learners. Further information on the consultation is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/publications/consultation-on-new-approach-to-uni-connect/.

In spring 2021, the OfS also consulted on their approach to recurrent funding. Their consultation response was published in July 2021, available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/media/c7329f54-2668-431e-ba14-616892a26586/recurrent_funding_2021_22_outcomes_of_consultation_final_for_web.pdf. It concluded that the Uni Connect partnerships could continue to meet the OfS’s goals through a combination of increased efficiency and a focus on the most effective interventions.