Office for Students: Appointment
Debate between Nicholas Dakin and Lord Johnson of Marylebone(6 years, 10 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
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Joseph Johnson
My right hon. Friend makes an important point. Labour’s priorities are curious. We have had not a word from the leadership of the party about what is going on in Iran, for example, and it is focusing instead on its feigned outrage over Toby Young. It should really focus on the priorities facing this country, not these second order ones.
Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) (Lab)
The Minister said earlier that, in appointments to this board, there was a desire to represent the broad range of higher education providers. Why did he find space for such a controversial appointment, but no space for somebody with FE experience, when so many students are in further education?
Joseph Johnson
The board is representative of a broad range of higher education providers, as it is required to be under the terms of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017. It contains a vice-chancellor of the University of the West of England; a former vice-chancellor of BPP University; the chair of council at an arts college, the Rose Bruford College; and a senior figure from an Oxford college, who happens to be the bursar and also a director at the Oxford Centre for Higher Education Policy Studies. It is well representative of the excellent diversity of our higher education system.