Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether it is his policy to make it a condition for universities to become involved in academy sponsorship or the founding of free schools in order for them to charge maximum tuition fees.

It is not a condition for universities to become involved in academy sponsorship or the founding of free schools in order for them to charge maximum tuition fees.

All higher education (HE) providers in England that register with the Office for Students (OfS) and want to charge more than the basic annual amount for tuition must have an Access and Participation Plan approved by the OfS. Through these plans, providers set out what activities they intend to take to ensure students from disadvantaged backgrounds or under-represented groups can access, participate, succeed and progress from HE.

The Schools that Work for Everyone consultation asked how we could best harness the resources and expertise of those in the HE sector to widen access to these institutions for disadvantaged pupils, and to work in partnership to lift attainment across the wider school system. We know that many institutions are already delivering activities to support these objectives and are working closely and effectively with state school partners, but we want to see this good practice adopted more widely and see a greater ambition for what can be achieved through such partnership working.