Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to page 2 of the Department for Education's consultation response entitled Higher Education Policy Statement and Reform: Government consultation response, published in July 2023, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of proposals to cap the numbers of students on low quality courses on (a) students and (b) providers in each English region; and whether she discussed the potential impact of those proposals on the levelling up agenda with the Secretary of State for Education before the publication of the Government consultation response.

As the independent regulator, it will be for the Office for Students (OfS) to determine whether Higher Education (HE) provision is in breach of condition of registration B3, which requires providers to deliver positive student outcomes, and whether a recruitment limit is an appropriate and proportionate response to any individual breach. Therefore, the department cannot predict which providers and provision might be subject to a recruitment limit in the future. OfS are currently investigating 18 of the total 421 registered HE providers, in relation to condition B3.

Further detail about condition of registration B3 can found here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/regulation/registration-with-the-ofs-a-guide/conditions-of-registration/.

The department considered the potential impact of recruitment limits on students and providers in each English region, based on provision currently not meeting the minimum thresholds for one or more of the three B3 metrics, in its HE Reform consultation response impact assessment. This impact assessment can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1170666/Higher_education_policy_statement_and_reform_-_government_consultation_response_-_impact_assessments_and_analysis.pdf.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities considered and agreed all of the measures in the HE Reform Consultation Response.

The department wants to make sure that every student who goes into HE will be able to reap true benefits, regardless of where they are located. Supporting students across the UK onto HE which delivers good outcomes will support levelling up.