Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Office for Fair Access report, Outcomes of access agreement monitoring for 2015-16, published on 29 April 2017, what assessment her Department has made of the growing gap in non-continuation rates between the most disadvantaged and the most disadvantaged students after the first year at university.

Non-continuation rates for UK students at English Higher Education Institutions are lower than in 2009/10, including for the most disadvantaged students. Analysis by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has found that students’ age, subject studied and entry qualifications account for a substantial portion of the gap between the most and least disadvantaged students. The analysis is available here: http://www.hefce.ac.uk/analysis/ncr/nhe/.

We want to continue to see reduced non-continuation rates for all students. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 requires institutions to publish admissions and retention data by gender, ethnicity and socio-economic background, and this greater transparency will help the Higher Education sector make further progress to build on what has already been achieved. We are working closely with HEFCE and the Director of Fair Access to target resources effectively and to ensure that universities take more responsibility for widening access and retention for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, prioritising activities that demonstrate the greatest value for money.