Draft Higher Education (Fee Limits and Student Support) (England) (Coronavirus) (revocation) regulations 2020

Emma Hardy Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 General Committees

[Emma Hardy (Kingston upon Hull West and Hessle) (Lab)]

I welcome the revocation of the original SI. We were broadly supportive of the principle of the cap as there was evidence of emerging aggressive recruitment. The decision to use a flawed algorithm to determine this year’s A-level results, however, led to a great deal of distress and upheaval for schools, students and universities. Once the entirely sensible decision to use teacher assessments had been taken, that led to an increase in the number of students who earned a place at university. The numbers cap as proposed by the original regulations became unworkable and unfair. It is to the universities credit that they were able to respond quickly and flexibly to the disruption surrounding the admissions process and were able to honour their offers. I record my thanks to all the universities that have done so much in that regard.

The lessons should have been learned, and it is right that the Government have listened to Labour and pushed back the timing of exams in this academic year to give pupils more time to catch up on the learning that they have lost. That decision need not have waited weeks and weeks after Labour called for it to be made. Although it is a necessary intervention, there are concerns that it will not be sufficient to prevent a repeat of the circumstances that led to the need to revoke the original SI, and to our presence in Committee today.

All the expert advice is that the virus will not disappear by next summer, so I have a few questions for the Minister to answer. I am keen to learn how stability will be introduced in the higher education sector next year. Will she introduce a temporary numbers cap again? Is there an analysis of the impact of the removal of the cap on university finances, and the distribution of student numbers across the United Kingdom? What more will be done to prevent aggressive recruitment practices in the following academic year? Can we be reassured that there will be extensive dialogue with the devolved nations before any changes to the caps are considered? Given the additional number of students now attending university, how will the Minister monitor the student drop-out rate in real time while those students are at university?

[Michelle Donelan]

I thank the hon. Lady for supporting the spirit behind the revocation, as well as the purpose of the original regulations.

In terms of our exams policy for next year, the Secretary of State asked Qfqual to look into that back in June, well before Labour ever campaigned for any change. A great deal of work is being done by the Department for Education and Qfqual to ensure that we have the necessary plan B in place for those students who may end up self-isolating or under restrictions while examinations are conducted next year. No one is in any doubt about what students have been through in the past few months, and continue to go through, and that understanding will be at heart of that joint work to ensure that exams are fairly assessed. We will ensure that the futures of those students can be unlocked in higher education, further education or the wider world of employment.

We keep future SNCs under review, working closely with the devolved Administrations, as the hon. Lady requested. It is important that we keep everything on the table because we are in the midst of global pandemic, and we need to plan accordingly and be live to issues in response to the sector’s needs.

The covid-pandemic has been disruptive to every sector of society, and as universities Minister, I will do everything I can to maintain stability.

[Emma Hardy]

I am grateful for the answer about discussions with the devolved nations. Before the Minister concludes, could she say something about the analysis of the impact of the removal of the SNCs on university finances and student numbers? What will be done to prevent aggressive recruitment practices in the following academic year? How will drop-out rates be monitored?

[Michelle Donelan]

I was going to come on to that, but as the hon. Lady is eager, I will address those questions now.

Drop-out rates are a matter of concern to me and the Department in any year. We want to ensure that students can access an education, continue it and complete it, so that they have a qualification that will unlock their future. I regularly talk to the sector about that in my weekly discussions with the higher education taskforce. I know that it is monitoring numbers. It is imperative that support is available to students on matters ranging from food, wellbeing and mental health, especially for those who are self-isolating, and that that is prioritised. Last week I wrote a letter to each university and provider on that very subject. I will work hand in hand with them to ensure that that support and guidance is given, and that it is communicated to students, so that they can continue on their educational journey.

On finances, back in May we announced our stabilisation package that assisted with cash flow, and brought forward some money, include QR funding to the tune of £100 million. That was in conjunction with the work of the Chancellor of Exchequer, who has provided according to my best estimate £700 million for loans and grants. We regularly monitor the financial health of all institutions, including those who were affected by the reversal to centre assessment grades in the summer, and that is done in conjunction with the Office for Students. As the hon. Lady will be aware, we have also introduced a restructuring regime that acts as a safety net for any institution that, having accessed all the other support available, is still in need of help. It is important to stress that, at this moment in time, no institution has self-referred to the restructuring regime, but it remains an avenue of opportunity.

As for preventing aggressive recruitment practices in the forthcoming year, many of my predecessors have written to institutions against the use of unconditional offers. I continue to reiterate that message to the sector, and that issue will be considered in our response to Augar. We will keep everything on the table next year as we deal with the pandemic and any fall-out that it may have on SNCs and such like.