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<p>The information requested falls under the remit of the UK Statistics Authority.</p><p>
</p><p>Please see the letter attached from the National Statistician and Chief Executive
of the UK Statistics Authority.</p><p> </p><p>The Office for National Statistics is
not responsible for making an assessment of the non-statistical impacts of classification
decisions. Therefore, no such assessment has been made of other consequences.</p><p>
</p><p>The Lord Stevens of Birmingham</p><p>House of Lords</p><p>London</p><p>SW1A
0PW</p><p> </p><p>19 January 2024</p><p> </p><p>Dear Lord Stevens of Birmingham,</p><p>
</p><p>As National Statistician and Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority,
I am responding to your Parliamentary Questions asking when the Office for National
Statistics (ONS) will conclude its review of the classification of universities in
the National Accounts, first announced in January 2017 <strong>(HL1604)</strong>.
And further to the classification review of universities announced by the ONS in January
2017, what assessment we have made of the (1) fiscal, and (2) other, consequences
of universities being reclassified as public bodies as a result of that review <strong>(HL1606)</strong>.</p><p>
</p><p>The ONS regularly reviews legislation and guidance relating to a number of
institutions, including universities, to determine whether any changes would have
a potential impact on their sector classification. As such, the classification review
of universities in the UK, first announced on 31 January 2017 [1] will consider whether
the substantial rise in tuition fees from 2012, and other changes in funding arrangements
affect the classification of universities.</p><p> </p><p>A further statement on the
classification review of universities in the UK was released on 5 April 2018 [2].
This statement explained that the classification review had been paused because of
the announcement of the review of post-18 education and funding, which raised the
possibility that the cap for tuition fees may be altered. As this could affect the
classification status of individual universities, the statement confirmed the classification
review would recommence when there is more certainty in this area.</p><p> </p><p>It
was necessary to further postpone the classification review of universities in the
UK due to new higher priority classification cases, such as support schemes initiated
during the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently, the energy support schemes introduced
in 2022 and 2023.</p><p> </p><p>At present, the ONS plans to begin the classification
review of universities in the UK from Quarter 2 (April – June) 2024. However, classification
priorities can change quickly, and the expected dates of completion are only indicative.
Our forward work plan 3 is updated each month to reflect changes in priorities. Table
1 shows the expected timetable for the classification review.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table
1: Expected timetable for the classification review of universities [3]</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Name
of case</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Expected date of completion</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universities
(Scotland)</p></td><td><p>Quarter 2 (Apr to Jun) 2024</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universities
(Northern Ireland)</p></td><td><p>Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep) 2024</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universities
(Wales)</p></td><td><p>Quarter 3 (Jul to Sep) 2024</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Universities
(England)</p></td><td><p>Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><em>Source:
Forward Work Plan December 2023 (19 December 2023)</em></p><p> </p><p>The ONS has
not yet made an assessment of the fiscal consequences of universities being reclassified
as public bodies. Within our forward work plan, for each of the four cases involved,
we have provided an indication that the impact on fiscal aggregates could be small
(less than £100 million change).</p><p> </p><p>The ONS is not responsible for making
an assessment of the non-statistical impacts of classification decisions. Therefore,
no such assessment has been made of other consequences.</p><p> </p><p>Yours sincerely,</p><p>Professor
Sir Ian Diamond</p><p> </p><p>[1] <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/classificationreviewofuniversitiesintheuk"
target="_blank">Classification review of universities in the UK - Office for National
Statistics (ons.gov.uk)</a></p><p>[2] <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/furtherstatementontheclassificationreviewofuniversitiesintheuk"
target="_blank">Further statement on the classification review of universities in
the UK - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)</a></p><p>[3] <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/file?uri=/methodology/classificationsandstandards/economicstatisticsclassifications/introductiontoeconomicstatisticsclassifications/dec2023fwp.xls"
target="_blank">Economic statistics sector classification – Forward Work Plan dataset
(XLSX, 128KB)</a></p>
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