Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to Answer of 12 November 2025 to Question 87656, what plans she has to issue updated guidance to higher education providers in the context of the Office for Students’ assessment that reliance on international student fee income presents a risk to financial sustainability.

Higher education (HE) providers are responsible for managing their finances. As such, they must continue to adapt to uncertainties and financial risks. However, this government is committed to putting the HE sector on a secure financial footing so that it can face the challenges of the next decade.

Our decision to raise tuition fees annually in line with inflation, alongside refocusing the Office for Students (OfS) on monitoring the sector’s financial health, demonstrates this commitment.

The government does not currently have any plans to issue guidance to higher education providers in light of the Office for Student’s (OfS) assessment of the HE sector’s reliance on international student fee income. The OfS is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of the sector, including risks relating to international student recruitment.