The information is not readily available or held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4450", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Luke Hall"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Thornbury and Yate"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Luke Hall"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-04-26", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-04-26T11:40:49.61Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-04-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Admissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of students came from a sixth form or college within 15 miles of their university in the period between 2015 and 2023.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4617", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Matt Western"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Warwick and Leamington"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Matt Western"} ], "uin" : "22609"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1695867", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1695867/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Higher education (HE) providers are autonomous organisations responsible for their own admissions decisions. The government takes a close interest in ensuring that the HE admissions system is fair and works well for students.<\/p>
UCAS have reformed the academic reference for 2024 HE admissions to provide clarity and improve fairness for applicants. UCAS have also consulted on reform of the applicant personal statement to simplify the process and ensure that universities hear from applicants in their own words.<\/p>
The department will continue to work with UCAS and sector bodies to improve transparency of the university admissions process, enhance student choice, and to improve fairness for applicants of all backgrounds.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3985", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Halfon"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harlow"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Halfon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2024-03-21", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2024-03-21T16:34:50.723Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2024-03-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Admissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of planned reforms to university admissions on the (a) number and (b) demographic of students applying to university.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4653", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Stephen Morgan"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Portsmouth South"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Stephen Morgan"} ], "uin" : "18581"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1659540", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1659540/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK higher education (HE) system is amongst the best in the world. Attracting the brightest students internationally is good for our universities and delivers growth at home.<\/p>
Domestic students continue to make up the vast majority of overall undergraduate students within UK universities. The proportion of international acceptances on results day this year was 12.3%, having been 14.7% at the same point in 2019.<\/p>
This year on A level and T level Results Day, 186,710 English-domiciled 18-year-olds were accepted to HE providers in England compared to 162,680 in 2019.<\/p>
Ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to access a world class education remains a top priority and is fundamental to the department\u2019s ambition to level-up skills, growth, and economic opportunity across the country.<\/p>
As autonomous bodies independent from the government, universities are responsible for their own recruitment decisions. Most universities have separate home and international student recruitment targets, set before the admissions cycle even begins. Universities plan their student numbers very carefully, not least because there are important implications for the provision of student support and wellbeing services, accommodation, and everything else needed to deliver the best student experience.<\/p>
The department and I regularly engage with the HE sector to support policy making and delivery and did so throughout the 2023 cycle.<\/p>
Most recently, on 7 September 2023, I attended the Universities UK annual conference and discussed how the government is supporting universities to maximise their immense economic and social impact. Key topics discussed included degree apprenticeships, the Lifelong Loan Entitlement and Horizon.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3985", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Halfon"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harlow"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Halfon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-09-20", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-09-20T12:46:42.157Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-09-11", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Admissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the higher education sector on the availability of university places for domestic students.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4131", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Jim Shannon"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Strangford"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Jim Shannon"} ], "uin" : "198708"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1649978", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1649978/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
A person\u2019s access to university should not be determined by their personal characteristics, but by their ambition and ability. We want to provide a ladder of opportunity for everyone to get the education and skills they need for job security and prosperity and to support levelling up across the country, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or socio-economic background.<\/p>
There are challenges related to gender representation in higher education (HE). Data shows that more than half (50.6%) of female pupils from state-funded schools in England entered HE by age 19 by 2020/21, compared to 38.4% of males. The gap in progression rates between males and females rose from 11.4 to 12.2 percentage points between 2019/20 and 2020/21.<\/p>
We know that prior attainment is a key determinant of successful participation in HE, and that is why we have asked universities to take on a more direct role in driving up the standards in schools.<\/p>
Our access and participation reforms announced in 2021 are playing a pivotal role in ensuring that students are supported to access and succeed on the right course for them. As part of this refresh of the system, the Office for Students (OfS) has asked more institutions to set targets for increasing the proportion of level 4 and 5 qualifications, and higher and degree apprenticeships that they offer, so that more students can access flexible and skills-related courses.<\/p>
In March 2023, the OfS launched its Equality of Opportunity Risk Register (EORR). This will empower HE providers to deliver interventions for groups of students least likely to experience equal opportunity in HE settings by highlighting 12 key sector risks and the groups most likely to experience these, including gender. We welcome the EORR as a key marker for social justice which will help ensure that no student groups are left behind.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3985", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Halfon"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harlow"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Halfon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-07-12", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-07-12T16:11:18.97Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-07-04", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Admissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has made an assessment of the reasons for the difference in the number of men and women entering university.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1565", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Philip Davies"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Shipley"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Philip Davies"} ], "uin" : "192280"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1586843", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1586843/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
As autonomous bodies that are independent from the government, universities are responsible for their own course advertising. The Competition and Markets Authority has produced guidance for providers on their responsibilities under consumer protection law, including what material information about courses they should provide to prospective students.<\/p>
The department is working with the sector to agree ways in which providers might incorporate key pieces of data into their course advertising, so that students can better understand what course outcomes they might expect at the point at which courses are being sold to them.<\/p>
The department is clear that universities should be transparent about the content of their courses and the likely outcomes that students can expect from them. Discover Uni, a tool which is owned and operated by the four UK higher education (HE) funding and regulatory bodies, is the official, authoritative source of information and guidance to HE courses in the UK. It is designed to help prospective students to make the right choices about what and where to study, by allowing users to search for and compare information and data for individual undergraduate courses across the UK. The Office for Students sets the expectation that HE providers will display a link to the Discover Uni website on their course website pages to help prospective students make informed decisions about the courses they sign up to.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3985", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Robert Halfon"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Harlow"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Robert Halfon"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-24T15:13:06.13Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-02-17", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Admissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she had recent discussions with universities on taking steps to ensure that the statistics on the employment of former students on degree courses are accurate when universities offer courses to new students.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4799", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Charlotte Nichols"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Warrington North"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Charlotte Nichols"} ], "uin" : "147476"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1582613", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1582613/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Access to higher education (HE) should be based on a student\u2019s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than background.<\/p>
In November 2021, the department issued guidance to the Office for Students (OfS), asking it to refocus the access and participation regime to create a system that supports young people from disadvantaged backgrounds throughout their education. This includes white working-class boys who continue to see lower entry rates than students from other ethnic groups, and from higher income households.<\/p>
The OfS is working closely with providers to ensure a focus on delivering social justice by making getting on at university as important as getting in, and specifically on activities which have a direct impact on student attainment. Providers are also being encouraged to offer a greater array of pathways into HE, including more vocational and technical courses, and degree apprenticeships, so that more students can identify opportunities that match career ambitions, and so that employers can access the skills they need.<\/p>
A large number of HE providers have drafted variations to their current access and participation plans to be implemented from September 2023. This will be followed by a full rewrite of their plans in line with these new priorities.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4703", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Barran"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Barran"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2023-02-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2023-02-13T16:01:21.333Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2023-01-31", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Universities: Admissions"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of barriers for young white males from poorer backgrounds in securing places at university.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1137", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Patten"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Patten"} ], "uin" : "HL5265"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1563598", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Education"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1563598/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
Since education policy is a devolved matter, the department has not made an estimate of the overall number of UK students who will be seeking places at UK universities.<\/p>