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

Steve Brine Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2020 General Committees

[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.

[Steve Brine (Winchester) (Con)]

The Minister is a very good Minister and engages strongly with the sector, including the University of Winchester, which I am fortunate to represent. In terms of future student numbers, has she had any conversations about incentivising European Union students to come here? For a lot of universities and institutions, including my own, those students are a key part of the business model.

[Michelle Donelan]

Indeed. It is important to incentivise all international students. When we read the media reports a few months ago, it looked as though the numbers would drop off a cliff, but that has not happened. That is testimony to our fantastic institutions. Of course it is still early days in terms of the exact number of international students studying here, and some are currently studying remotely. We have a big draw for students inside and outside of the EU, and I have been working closely with our institutions on how we can continue to attract that fantastic talent to this country. That is important not just in terms of the economics but for the benefit of our society, culture and the enrichment of some of our domestic students at our universities.

The introduction of the temporary SNCs and the Higher Education (Fee Limits and Student Support) (England) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 were the right steps to ensure the stability and sustainability of the sector at the time. It is important for a Government to be flexible and adapt to an ever-changing situation, and particularly the current circumstances. The change to the A-level results meant that temporary SNCs could have discouraged providers from accepting all those students who met their offers and conditions. That would have been unfair to providers and, crucially, to those students. Therefore the original regulations were in no way suitable any longer. In those circumstances, it is right and fair that they no longer apply and that students who have met the conditions of their offer are able to go to their chosen university, and that providers can accept them without undue financial consequences. I therefore recommend the regulations to the Committee.

Question agreed to.