Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions he has had with representatives from the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education in England on ensuring that universities maintain a high quality of education during the covid-19 pandemic.

The department is working closely with the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) to ensure that higher education providers are given advice on the practical steps they can take to support students during the COVID-19 outbreak. The QAA has published a series of guides on how providers can maintain quality and standards. This guidance has been developed in consultation with the government, regulators and funders of higher education as well as sector representative bodies. We will remain in close contact with the QAA throughout the COVID-19 outbreak.