Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, (a) how and (b) what steps he is taking to monitor changes in the level of drop-out rates among higher education students due to the covid-19 outbreak in the 2020-21 academic year.

Data on students leaving their higher education studies and not continuing their studies following their year of entry are collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

We have set up a Higher Education Task Force, involving representatives from across the government and the higher education sector. The taskforce meets weekly to explore the challenges currently facing the sector as it continues to deal with the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Where there is emerging evidence of increasing drop-out rates presented by or to the taskforce, its members will seek to understand and address the possible impact of COVID-19.