Draft Higher Education (Access and Participation Plans) (England) Regulations 2018
Debate between Mike Hill and Sam Gyimah(6 years, 11 months ago)
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Mike Hill (Hartlepool) (Lab)
Does that mean the Minister agrees that there needs to be absolute clarity in the access and participation plans, as the Opposition have contested, to avoid any conflicts in the future?
Mr Gyimah
We need clarity to be effective, so of course I support absolute clarity in this respect.
The board composition was touched on. The hon. Member for Blackpool South has been looking for much longer than I have at the detail of this. The OFS has quite a wide remit, and board members are bringing different experience from different places to the board so that it can fulfil its wide remit.
I will draw my comments to a close. A very important issue is what happens to access and participation plans in the event of a change of control or ownership. A provider must have an access and participation plan approved by the OFS if it has a fee cap and wishes to charge higher fees. If there is a change of registration or any change of ownership, that would remain in place.