Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 26 January (HL5024), what systems are in place to ensure that a standardised approach is taken by higher education institutions in relation to dealing with cheating, and to encourage best practice relating to plagiarism.

Higher education institutions are independent and autonomous bodies and are required to comply with the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, which requires that ‘assessment is equitable, valid and reliable’. As such, institutions are expected to have clear policies on cheating and plagiarism.

As part of its cyclical review of UK universities and colleges, the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) reports publicly on its findings, including if there are concerns relating to plagiarism.