Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of increasing university tuition fees to over £9,000 a year on the number of young adults from deprived backgrounds attending university.

The Department for Education published an equality analysis in May 2016, to cover the reforms set out in the Success as a Knowledge Economy White Paper, that were subsequently taken forward through the Higher Education and Research Act (2017).

This included an assessment of the impact of allowing institutions who were successful in the Teaching Excellence Framework assessment process to increase their fees up to inflation.

The Department also published in December 2016 an Equality Analysis for the 2017/18 student finance package, which covered both the increase in fees and accompanying loan support.

These assessments concluded that this change was unlikely to significantly alter participation decisions. Tuition fees will not increase in real terms and Higher Education and publicly funded institutions will remain free at the point of access for those who are eligible, as tuition fee loans will increase to cover increased tuition fees.

A copy of the Equality Analysis – Higher Education and Research Bill (published May 2016) is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524226/bis-16-281-he-research-bill-equality-analysis.pdf

A copy of the Equality Analysis for the Student Support and Fee Regulations (published December 2016) is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/577420/Equality_Analysis_for_Student_Support_Regulations_2016.pdf