The Higher Education
and Research Bill entered committee stage in the
House of Lords today.
At the Bill’s heart is institutional autonomy and
academic freedom. One of the main changes it will bring
is to encourage competition and choice - making it
simpler and quicker for innovative and specialist
providers to set up, award degrees and compete alongside
existing institutions.
It will help ensure students and taxpayers receive value
for money and mean more people have a chance to study at
the highest level, promoting social mobility and boosting
our economy. The Bill also aims to further strengthen the
UK’s world-class capabilities in research and innovation.
Central to the government’s pledge to create a society
that works for everyone, the Higher Education and
Research Bill will ensure that our universities are
delivering for the students and families who invest so
much in the opportunities that higher education provides.
Notable organisations, including education leaders, have
been showing their support for the Bill, among them the
Quality Assurance Agency, University Alliance and
the Competition and
Markets Authority.
Douglas Blackstock of the Quality Assurance Agency said:
It will promote competition while retaining rigorous
checks on quality and students for new providers via an
independent quality body.
Maddalaine Ansell, University Alliance said:
Higher education and research have undergone a huge
transformation in recent years and it’s important that
we have a regulatory framework that reflects this.
It is right that students should be at the heart of the
system and we welcome the focus on teaching excellence
and participation as well as access.
The Bill was debated in the House of Commons last year
before entering the Lords.
Universities, Science, Research and Innovation Minister
said:
The Higher Education and Research Bill will deliver
important reforms to ensure our world-class higher
education sector remains one of our greatest national
assets and delivers for everyone.
Since its introduction in May, I have been listening
carefully to the views of students, universities,
academics and parliamentarians and have already made
some amendments in response to what I’ve heard.
These include being clear the government will not have
the ability to tell institutions to prohibit or require
the provision of particular courses and ensuring that
the new regulator, the Office for Students, will always
have a dedicated board member with experience of
representing and promoting the interests of students,
and that it will be given new duty related to
monitoring the financial sustainability of the sector.
I now look forward to debates in the House of Lords as
we take through a Bill which will provide more choice,
promote social mobility and boost this country’s
productivity.
Read more about the Higher Education and Research Bill
