Young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are entering at record rates to the most selective universities. There are also record entry rates across all ethnic groups.<\/p>
The guidance to the Director of Fair Access (DfA), published in February 2016, asked for the most selective institutions, to make faster progress on widening access, and to ensure their outreach is more focused. This report can be found in the attached document.<\/p>
The DfA has agreed access agreements for 2018/19 with plans for universities to spend more than £860 million on measures to continue to support improving access and student success for students from disadvantaged and under-represented backgrounds, up significantly from £404 million in 2009. We are introducing sweeping reforms through legislation. The Higher Education and Research Act includes a transparency duty requiring all universities to publish applications, offers, and acceptance and retention rates broken down by gender, ethnicity and social economic background. This will help to hold them to account for their performance on access and retention. In addition, we expect all universities, particularly the most selective, to help raise attainment and support school improvement, including through school sponsorship and by establishing new state schools.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4169", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Viscount Younger of Leckie"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Viscount Younger of Leckie"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2017-11-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2017-11-06T18:00:41.317Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "60"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Education"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2017-10-23", "_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 Her Majesty's Government what measures they are taking to increase the diversity of the undergraduate body of students at the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4238", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Storey"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Storey"} ], "uin" : "HL2399"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/605479", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/605479/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The ONS estimate the UK civil aerospace sector employs 116,000 people and supports a further 113,000 indirectly through its supply chains.<\/p>
<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4284", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Neville-Rolfe"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Neville-Rolfe"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2016-10-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2016-10-24T16:44:28.263Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "201"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2016-10-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Aerospace Industry: Staff"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what is their estimate of the total workforce employed in the UK's aerospace industry.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/530", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Jones"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Jones"} ], "uin" : "HL2399"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/419696", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/419696/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The British Government is very concerned about the case of Ali Mohammed Al-Nimr. We have raised this case with the Saudi Arabian authorities at a senior level including by the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond). We will continue to follow this case closely. The UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, especially in cases which do not meet the minimum standards defined by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. This includes the execution of a minor and the use of the death penalty for a crime which isn\u2019t deemed \u201cthe most serious\u201d.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3474", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Anelay of St Johns"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2015-10-13", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2015-10-13T14:41:38.773Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2015-10-05", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Ali Mohammed al-Nimr"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what is their assessment of the decision by the Supreme Court in Saudi Arabia to uphold the sentencing of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who was arrested as a juvenile, to death by crucifixion for seeking democratic reforms in that country.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4266", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for The Lord Bishop of Coventry"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "The Lord Bishop of Coventry"} ], "uin" : "HL2399"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/100931", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/100931/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
The UK and EU are providing support to scientific institutions in Ukraine in several areas though not as a consequence of recent political instability. The Royal Society is currently funding, through its Department of Business Innovation and Skills grant, two international exchanges involving Ukrainian scientists worth £24,000.<\/p>
The British Council has awarded grants of up to £5000 to support the development of partnerships between Ukrainian and UK higher education institutions in 2014-15. Priority was given to applications focussed on energy. The partnerships include:<\/p>
Keele University - V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ecology Department;
University of Manchester - Ivano-Frankivsk National Technical University of Oil and Gas;
Energy Institute, University College London - V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Department of Physics and Energy;
Aberystwyth University - Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Department of Geology;
Durham University - V.N.Karazin Kharkiv National University, Department of Chemistry.<\/p>
The EU\u2019s Horizon 2020 programme is funding several projects in Ukraine, such as BILAT-UKR*AINA which supports science and technology policy dialogue between the Commission, EU Member States and Ukraine. The EU Delegation in Ukraine provides funding for a number of projects in areas such as energy, environment and the sustainable management of natural resources. In addition, Ukraine is a partner country to the Erasmus+ programme, and therefore has automatic access to a number of Erasmus+ activities in the area of youth and higher education, financed through EU external and internal funds.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/3474", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Baroness Anelay of St Johns"} } , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Baroness Anelay of St Johns"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2014-11-06", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2014-11-06T17:47:27.6410243Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2014-10-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Ukraine"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "2"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25277", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Lords"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask Her Majesty\u2019s Government what assistance the United Kingdom and the European Union are providing to Ukrainian scientific institutions that have been adversely affected by the recent political instability in that country.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/2543", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Lord Hunt of Chesterton"} } , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Lord Hunt of Chesterton"} ], "uin" : "HL2399"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 4, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }