Office for Fair Access
Debate between Vince Cable and Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford(12 years, 9 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text
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Vince Cable
I think that universities will be greatly reassured that they have an excellent man to lead OFFA in future, as Sir Martin Harris has done in the past. It has been a good process, we have a good outcome, and universities have absolutely nothing to be afraid of.
Nicola Blackwood (Oxford West and Abingdon) (Con)
As someone who once conducted interviews of undergraduates at Oxford, my experience is that Oxford was a university that admits on merit, rather than considering the background of candidates, and was always looking for ways to widen access. Oxford spends double the sector average on financial support for lowest income students, but given concerns expressed today about Professor Ebdon’s appointment, does the Secretary of State agree that decisions about admissions to universities must remain the ultimate decision of those universities, as they are best placed to make that judgment?
Vince Cable
Yes, of course I agree, and I repeat what I have said several times in the past. Indeed, the ultimate assurance that the hon. Lady has are the terms of the legislation under which OFFA operates, the Higher Education Act 2004, which said that the director of OFFA
“has a duty to protect academic freedom”,
including determining
“the criteria for the admission of students”.
That is absolute.