Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to support disadvantaged students from the Filton and Bradley Stoke constituency in accessing, participating in, and succeeding at university.

We support the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university, regardless of their background or where they live.

All English higher education (HE) providers that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an access and participation plan approved by the Office for Students which articulates how it will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, supporting them to both access and succeed in HE.

We are introducing targeted, means-tested maintenance grants of up to £1,000 per year from the 2028/29 academic year, providing vital extra support for students from low-income households without increasing their debt, and are future-proofing maintenance loans by committing to increase them in line with forecast inflation every year.

As a further measure, we have convened an access and participation task and finish group to consider how to tackle regional disparities and the systemic barriers across the journey into HE for disadvantaged students. A final report will be published in January 2027.