Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of international students on the financial viability of higher education institutions.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England. The OfS monitors the financial viability and sustainability of providers registered with them.

In May 2023, the OfS published a report stating that the overall aggregate financial position of universities is sound. However, there continue to be significant differences between individual providers, both across the sector and within peer groups. The OfS also assessed the key risks facing the financial sustainability of the HE sector. The report sets out the main risks of those within different peer groups.

The OfS expects that any provider relying on overseas fees and growth in overseas students has contingency plans to protect its financial sustainability. The OfS has written to providers that are particularly exposed to this risk to ask them to share these contingency plans.

The government’s International Education Strategy and its recent update make clear that the internationalisation of the HE sector cannot come at any cost. Universities must ensure they have appropriate processes in place to manage risks associated with dependence on a single source of funding, whether that is from a single organisation, or a single nation.

The department continues to work closely with the OfS and other stakeholders to keep abreast of the financial health of the sector. It is important to note that HE providers are autonomous and continue to remain responsible for the decisions they make regarding their business model and financial viability.