Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department has taken to encourage students from (a) Wakefield and (b) West Yorkshire to enter into higher education.

It is more crucial than ever before that we tap into the brilliant talent that our country has to offer, and make sure that university places are available to all who are qualified by ability and attainment to pursue them and who wish to do so.

All higher education (HE) providers wishing to charge higher levels fees must have an access and participation plan agreed by the Office for Students (OfS). These plans set out how they will support students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups, to access, participate and succeed in HE and progress from it. This includes setting targets where the provider identifies the inequalities that it intends to address.

Prior attainment is a key determinant of participation in HE. Universities must do more to reach out to those from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds to raise aspirations and support the raising of attainment in schools. That is why in our latest strategic guidance to the OfS, we asked them to encourage providers to do much more to work with schools in a way which meaningfully raises the attainment of disadvantaged children.

In addition, the OfS were also asked to urge providers to do more to ensure that all students, particularly those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds, are recruited to HE courses that will deliver good outcomes. Too many students are being let down by HE courses with low completion rates and courses which have no real labour market demand and therefore do not lead them into skilled employment. True social mobility is when we put students and their needs and career ambitions first, be that HE, further education or apprenticeships.

We want to help disadvantaged students by driving up standards, and providing equality of opportunity so that students have access to new skills and better paid jobs. This is fundamental to this government’s ambition of enabling every person to fulfil their potential.