Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of participation in higher education by 18 year-old students from England compared to those from (a) Northern Ireland, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales.

There is no data source which enables a direct comparison of higher education (HE) participation for each UK nation due to differences in data coverage and methodology.

The most consistent measure available is the 18-year-old entry rate published by UCAS, which measures the proportion of 18-year-olds in the population that have been accepted to full-time undergraduate HE through UCAS. The data shows changes in the entry rates over time. However, around a third of young full-time undergraduate provision in Scotland (mainly full-time undergraduate provision at further education colleges) are not included in UCAS’s figures and so do not allow for a consistent comparison of HE participation with Scotland.

The latest UCAS data can be found at: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/statistical-releases-daily-clearing-analysis-2023.

Alternative measures of participation which cover all HE are calculated by each of the UK nations. However, there are differences in methodology, such as differing coverage of pupils included in the measure and different age ranges for participation in HE. Data on these measures for each of the UK nations are signposted here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/participation-measures-in-higher-education-2021-to-2022.