Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of people who deferred entry to university in 2021-22 on offer rates for the academic year 2022-23.

The department continues to work closely with the higher education (HE) sector to support the 2022 intake of students to ensure they can go on to their next step in life whether that’s university, on-the-job training, moving into employment or continuing to study elsewhere.

We are confident that the impact of deferrals on offer rates for the academic year 2022/23 will be minimal. The UCAS end of cycle figures for the 2021/22 academic year cycle show that 6.5% of all accepted applicants deferred their place, a figure that is within 1 percentage point of the proportion who deferred in 2019/20 and 2020/21. There is no cap on the number of people who can go into HE and universities are prepared to meet the potential demand.

The department encourages students applying to university to be ambitious with their study choices and take the time to consider the route that is best for them. A large proportion of universities, including many in the Russell Group, will have places available in Clearing, which will provide opportunities for those who may have just missed their predicted grades.