A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“Despite the challenges faced by universities and colleges in
recent years, the most recent reports from both the NAO and the
OfS make clear that overall, the sector remains financially
resilient.
“Higher education is a key part of our skills revolution, which
is why we have set out reforms to boost the
sustainability of our world-class higher education
system, including ensuring the student loan system is
fairer for both students and taxpayers. This is backed by
nearly £900m to support teaching and students including the
largest increase in government funding for the sector in over a
decade.
“We are determined to drive up quality in higher education and
the OfS have recently launched the first wave of a package of
boots-on-the-ground investigations that we asked them to deliver,
focusing on ensuring students receive sufficient face-to-face
contact hours and are on high quality stretching
courses that are assessed rigorously and fairly.”
Further information:
- The number of UK students choosing to stay in the UK for
their studies is going up and has been the case for the last five
academic years and last year, over two million UK students chose
to stay in the UK for their higher education.
- The Office for Students receives an annual guidance
letter from the department which sets out its
priorities for the coming year, and directs how it should
distribute funding to higher education providers.
- The Office for Students continually monitors and assesses
financial health in the HE sector, working closely with any
provider that shows increased risk of financial
difficulties. The latest OfS report on the financial
sustainability of higher education providers in England
showed that the overall financial position of universities
colleges and other HE providers registered with the OfS
across the HE sector remains sound with generally reasonable
financial resilience.
- Government recognised that the COVID-19 pandemic would make
the academic year 2020/21 challenging for higher education
providers, which is why we provided an unprecedented amount of
support measures.
- Lifelong flexible learning and proposals to improve graduate
outcomes are some of the changes to be brought in as part of the
government’s conclusion to the Review of Post-18 Education
and Funding.
· In our guidance to the
Office for Students (OfS) on funding for the 2021/22 financial
year we made clear that the OfS should protect the £256 million
allocation for the student premiums to support disadvantaged
students and those that need additional help. The 2022-23
financial year guidance to the OfS confirms universities will
continue to be able to support students in hardship through the
student premium. Ministers’ Strategic Priorities Grant guidance
letter asks that the OfS looks to protect the student premium in
cash terms for 2022-23.
· Many providers have
hardship funds that students can apply to for assistance should
individuals’ finances be affected
· The Government has
made discretionary funding of £144 million available to support
individuals on low incomes which students are able to benefit
from – as well as the Household Support Fund which will support
millions of households in England with essentials over the coming
months
· Students continue to
benefit from the Energy Price Cap, which has been saving 15
million households £100 a year on average since 2019, alongside
the reduced rate of VAT – which costs £5bn a year
· In April 2022, the
National Minimum Wage increased to £9.18 an hour for those aged
21 to 22, and to £6.83 for 18-20 year-olds, boosting the earnings
of students who work
· As part of a package
of support for rising energy bills, the Government is giving a
council tax rebate payment of £150 to households that were living
in a property in council tax bands A to D as their main home on 1
April 2022. This includes full-time students that do not live in
student halls.
· The government
recognises many households will need support to deal with rising
energy costs, which are being affected by global factors and has
therefore announced a package of support to help households with
rising energy bills.
· Households will get
£400 of support with their energy bills through an expansion of
the Energy Bills Support Scheme. As well as doubling the £200 of
support announced earlier this year, the full £400 payment will
now be made as a grant, which will not be recovered through
higher bills in future years.
See Low student satisfaction and
rising deficits spell trouble for higher education in England,
say MPs
