Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to remove barriers to higher education for Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils.

The Office for Students (OfS), the regulator for higher education (HE) in England, identifies people from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller backgrounds as people who are likely to experience issues in accessing, and successfully participating, in HE. As such, they asked HE providers to consider the needs of this group in their Access and Participation Plans for 2021-2024/25. These plans are designed to support all students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups to enter and succeed in HE, and all HE providers charging higher level tuition fees must have a plan agreed by the OfS.