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1582613

registered interest
date	31/01/2023
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	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.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL5265
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2023 answer text <p>Access to higher education (HE) should be based on a student’s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than background.</p><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><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><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> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 13/02/2023 16:01:21 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1470918

registered interest
date	15/06/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to require the Office for Students to (1) monitor trends in international student recruitment, and (2) impose regulatory conditions on universities that have low diversity rates among their student body.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL1017
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/06/2022 answer text <p>The department monitors international student recruitment trends and has set out in the International Education Strategy (IES) that diversification and sustainable recruitment of international students remains a key strategic priority.</p><p>The IES sets an ambition to host at least 600,000 international higher education students in the UK, per year, by 2030. This ambition was met for the first time in the 2020/21 academic year, with over 605,000 international students studying in the UK.</p><p>The government does not plan to require the Office for Students (OfS) to undertake additional monitoring of trends in international student recruitment.</p><p>Regarding measures to improve diversity at specific providers, under OfS registration condition A1, all approved (fee cap) providers charging higher fees must have an approved access and participation plan in place. These must present a credible, ambitious strategy by the provider for closing identified gaps in access, continuation, and progression for disadvantaged and under-represented groups within their student body. Providers are held accountable on their targets via an annual monitoring return to the OfS. 171 providers had an OfS approved access and participation plan in the 2020/21 academic year, in accordance with the regulatory framework and powers under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017.</p><p>It is important that providers focus on supporting students to see good outcomes, not just getting more disadvantaged students through the door, this is what will ensure that Higher Education (HE) remains an engine of true social mobility. The department expects providers to do more to support high prior attainment for all, and to help students to identify and access the pathways that are right for them. That is why we have tasked the OfS through guidance issued in November 2021 with a reboot of access and participation in English HE.</p><p>John Blake, as Director for Fair Access and Participation at the OfS, is responsible for driving these changes forward. John is working closely with the sector to encourage stronger partnerships between HE providers and schools, and the expansion of the range of courses that are both offered and promoted to prospective students.</p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 29/06/2022 15:57:53 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1454415

registered interest
date	25/03/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the advantages afforded to university applicants with at least one family member who has attended university; and whether university application forms should ask whether applicants are first-generation applicants.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL7367
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2022 answer text <p>Access to higher education (HE) should be based on a student’s attainment and their ability to succeed, rather than background. The Office for Students encourages Higher Education Providers (HEPs) to consider a range of characteristics that might prevent individuals from accessing or succeeding in HE within their access and participation plans. This may include ‘first in family’ status, which some research suggests is associated certain forms of socio-economic disadvantage, such as being from a low-income household and being eligible for free school meals.</p><p>It should be noted that HEPs are autonomous and independent from government and are therefore responsible for their own admissions decisions. It is important that the admissions system for HE is underpinned by a commitment to fairness, quality of learning and teaching, and places student interests at its core. We will continue to work with UCAS and sector bodies to tackle problems at their root, improving transparency, reducing the use of unconditional offers, and improving the personal statement to underpin fairness for applicants of all backgrounds.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 06/04/2022 14:31:17 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1421085

registered interest
date	08/02/2022
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the FE Week article 'Confused and frustrated: Most universities reject first cohort of T Level students', published on 14 January, what steps they are taking to ensure that T Level qualifications are accepted by universities, both this year and in future years.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL6072
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/02/2022 answer text <p>We have undertaken an extensive programme of activities to encourage universities to consider the suitability of T Levels for entry to higher education (HE). As well as agreeing the allocation of UCAS tariff points, we have delivered numerous briefings to universities, collectively and individually, to explain the benefits of the programme and to answer their questions. We have also made available materials that will allow them to compare the content of T Levels with other established qualifications, such as A levels. We recently published a list of HE providers that will accept T Levels, which currently includes 74 universities and we expect this to continue to grow.</p><p>However, universities are autonomous institutions that set their own entry requirements. At this stage, their decisions are likely to be based on the first three T Level subjects, which will necessarily restrict the institutions and courses for which a T Level is suitable. As the remaining T Levels are rolled out, we will continue with our targeted engagement until all HE providers have had the opportunity to make an informed decision about the suitability of T Levels for their institution.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Barran question first answered 22/02/2022 12:17:42 answering member 4703 label Biography information for Baroness Barran
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1353649

registered interest
date	07/09/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many students have been paid to defer their university course for 12 months; and what the total amount of money spent is.
tabling member printed	Lord Storey
uin	HL2515
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2021 answer text <p>Throughout this year’s admissions cycle, we have encouraged providers to do everything they can to enable students who wish to enter higher education this year to do so. In a small number of cases, providers have seen more students meet the terms of their offers than they have capacity to accommodate, and these providers have agreed alternatives with these students, which may include a place on another course or an incentivised deferral. We do not record the number of students who have accepted incentivised deferrals at providers: this is a private arrangement between the provider and the individual student. In any year, some students choose to defer for a number of reasons.</p><p>The latest data for the admissions cycle (as at 28 days after A level results day) show that the total number of English students accepted has increased compared with 2020 and 2019, with both deferrals and non-deferrals increasing. The proportion of successful English applicants deferring this year is 0.7 percentage points greater than in 2019.</p><p>No funding has been provided by the government for incentivised deferrals. Rather, we have provided funding to increase capacity so that more students can take up their places this year, making available up to £10 million in additional grant funding to higher education providers through the Office for Students to help them to increase capacity in medical, dental, nursing, science, technology, engineering, maths, and other high-cost subjects. The government has also provided funding to provide incentives to students to switch from oversubscribed providers to providers with capacity in medicine and dentistry.</p><p>Alongside this, we have worked with universities, Health Education England, the Medical Schools Council and the General Medical Council to assess and agree how many additional places on medical and dentistry courses could be provided. Students who held a firm or insurance offer at an oversubscribed medical or dental school were contacted by their current university about a £10,000 incentive to change schools under the 2021 Medical School Student Incentivised Transfer Scheme. Students were given the opportunity to transfer to an alternative university which has space and to receive a financial incentive to do so. Participation in the scheme was entirely optional. This has supported more than 80 students to move from oversubscribed medical and dental schools to those which had additional capacity.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 22/09/2021 11:31:57 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4238 label Biography information for Lord Storey

1251645

registered interest
date	12/11/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the decision by the Welsh Government has now cancelled A-level exams in summer 2021 and base grades on school assessment, what steps they intend to take to ensure that there is a level playing field for university admission in the UK in 2021.
tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
uin	HL10300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2020 answer text <p>As autonomous institutions, higher education providers determine their own entry criteria. In making admissions decisions, we would expect providers to take into account variations across the UK in examination systems and types of qualification, as they have for many years.</p><p>We have been working closely with Ofqual, the devolved administrations, and partners across the education sector on all decisions relating to examinations and qualifications in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Higher Education Taskforce, chaired by my hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, provides a forum for discussion with sector representatives on a range of issues, including admissions, and we are working with the sector on the challenges which universities, colleges, and students are facing due to the pandemic.</p><p>We shall continue to engage with partners across the education sector on the measures needed to ensure that exams can be held in England, and on the issue of grading, with fairness for students as our priority.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 26/11/2020 13:08:52 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1230846

registered interest
date	02/09/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with universities regarding accommodating the demand for places on courses following the withdrawal of A-level results based on algorithms; and what additional resources are being made available to universities as a result of the change of policy.
tabling member printed	Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth
uin	HL7611
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/09/2020 answer text <p>My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, has written directly to all Vice Chancellors and has set up a Higher Education Taskforce so that the government can work with the sector to build capacity, harness expert views and tackle challenges. Together, we have agreed that all students who achieved the required grades will be offered a place at their first-choice university, wherever possible.</p><p>We have taken a number of steps to support this commitment. We have announced that, subject to parliamentary approval, we will completely remove temporary student number controls to help ensure there are no additional barriers to students being able to progress to higher education.</p><p>We have announced that we will lift caps on domestic medicine and dentistry courses in the next academic year. We will support providers to offer places to as many students who have met the grades for their current offer as they have capacity for, and where there are clinical placements available, through additional grant funding to support the costs of this provision.</p><p>We will also provide additional teaching grant funding to increase capacity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and other high-cost subjects, which are vital to the country’s social needs and economy. The Office for Students (OfS) will consult the sector on the details of how the allocations are made.</p><p>Providers will also be eligible to bid for a share of up to £10 million in funding to support capital expenditure. This funding will be used to support the infrastructure required to accommodate additional students recruited as a result of the changes to policy on A level grades.</p><p>The fund will be administered by the OfS, and providers will be eligible to bid for projects that support expansion in 2020/21.</p><p>We will continue to monitor the situation and to consider the effects that deferrals will have on future years. Funding decisions for future years will be taken at the Spending Review.</p> answering member printed Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay question first answered 10/09/2020 12:51:37 answering member 4728 label Biography information for Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay
tabling member	4282 label Biography information for Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth

1202067

registered interest
date	09/06/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of a possible reduction in the number of international students attending universities in England in the next academic year; and what plans they have to encourage more home students into universities in England in the light of any such reduction.
tabling member printed	Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
uin	HL5456
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/06/2020 answer text <p>We have been working closely with the Higher Education (HE) sector to monitor the likely impacts of COVID-19 on international student numbers. We understand that the COVID-19 outbreak and a possible reduction in the number of international students poses significant challenges.</p><p>On Monday 4 May my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced a package of measures to stabilise university admissions this autumn and ensure sustainability in HE at a time of unprecedented uncertainty.</p><p>We have introduced temporary student number controls for domestic and EU students for the academic year 2020/21 to ensure a fair, structured distribution of students across providers. These measures mean that providers will be able to recruit students up to a temporary set level, based on provider forecasts, which allows additional growth of up to 5% in the next academic year. The Secretary of State for Education, will also have the discretion to allocate an additional 10,000 places, of which 5,000 will be allocated to students studying nursing or allied health courses, to ensure growing numbers that will support our vital public services. This measure will only apply to full-time undergraduate UK/EU domiciled students, with certain specified exemptions. These controls will not apply to international (non-EU) students.</p><p>The government has been clear that the UK HE sector is ‘open for business’, remains world class and is looking forward to welcoming both domestic and international students in the future. To support international student recruitment, we are taking steps to further promote the new Graduate route (due to be launched in Summer 2021) which will provide an opportunity for international students who have been awarded their degree to stay and work in the UK at any skill level for 2 years. This represents a significant improvement in our offer to international students and will help ensure our HE sector remains competitive internationally.</p><p>The government has been in close communication with partners in the HE sector, who are considering educational provision for the academic year 2020/2021 and how to best reopen campuses. HE providers are autonomous institutions and will make their own judgements based on the latest public health guidance, taking account of the need to minimise risk to staff and students.</p><p>To help providers make informed decisions about their provision, the government has issued guidance, which is complemented by the Universities UK’s principles for reopening of campuses to students and staff. We anticipate HE providers will be open for the autumn term with a blend of online teaching and in-person tuition that they consider appropriate and which minimises risk. HE providers will be flexible in accommodating applicants’ circumstances where possible, including if they are unable to travel to the UK in time for the start of the academic year.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 23/06/2020 16:24:06 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4719 label Biography information for Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle

1200728

registered interest
date	04/06/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	Her Majesty's Government whether they consulted the (1) Northern Irish, (2) Scottish, and (2) Welsh, governments about their proposals to cap the number of English students who can be admitted to universities elsewhere in the UK; if not, why not; on what date the relevant ministers of those governments were informed of Her Majesty's Government's proposals; and what representations they have received from such ministers about those proposals. [T]
tabling member printed	Baroness Randerson
uin	HL5316
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/06/2020 answer text <p>My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, and hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Universities, have regular meetings with ministers from all the devolved administrations about higher education issues. These discussions have included the development of student number controls policy. The department’s officials also have regular meetings and discussions with their counterparts.</p><p>Student number controls for institutions in the devolved administrations only apply to the number of English-domiciled entrants who will be supported with their tuition fees through the Student Loans Company. The funding of English-domiciled students is not a devolved matter, and it is right and fair that this policy should apply consistently wherever they are studying in the UK.</p><p>Ministers will continue to work closely with the devolved administrations on strengthening and stabilising the higher education system following the COVID-19 outbreak.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 11/06/2020 14:35:00 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	4230 label Biography information for Baroness Randerson

1175363

registered interest
date	30/01/2020
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Universities: Admissions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of proposals to establish a scheme of contextualised university offers to assist those from disadvantaged backgrounds; and what plans, if any, they have to support such a scheme.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL1177
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/02/2020 answer text <p>Universities are independent, autonomous bodies. As such, they are responsible for their own admissions decisions.</p><p> </p><p>We are aware that many universities already adopt contextual admissions practices, to widen access of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The Office for Students has encouraged the use of contextual admissions and the Government supports such initiatives.</p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 13/02/2020 11:47:38 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton