Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will meet with (a) university leaders and (b) student representatives to discuss (i) tuition fees refunds for university students who are participating in remote learning during the covid-19 outbreak and (ii) rent rebates for university students who are not able to return to university accommodation.

This has been a very difficult time for students, and the government is working with the sector to make sure all reasonable efforts are being made to enable students to continue their studies.

On tuition fees, the government’s clear and stated expectation is that universities should maintain the quality and quantity of tuition and seek to ensure that all students regardless of their background have the resources to study remotely. This is more important than ever at the moment with the vast majority of students studying solely online. The sector has put in significant resources and worked hard to provide and prepare learning materials for this academic year and there are some fantastic and innovative approaches to delivering high-quality online learning.

Universities are autonomous and responsible for setting their own fees, up to a maximum of £9,250 for approved (fee cap) institutions. Maximum fees have been frozen for the current 2020/21 academic year and also for 2021/22, the fourth year in succession fees have been frozen. The Office for Students (OfS), as regulator for higher education (HE) providers in England, has made it clear that HE providers must continue to comply with registration conditions relating to quality and academic standards, which set out requirements to ensure that courses are high-quality, that students are supported and achieve good outcomes and that standards are protected, regardless of whether a provider is delivering its courses through face-to-face teaching, remote online learning, or a combination of both.

We continue to regularly engage the sector in discussion on this issue, including student representative groups, and I met with the National Union of Students and OfS student panel only last week. I wrote to the OfS on 13 January 2021 outlining the government’s expectations of the higher education sector following the new national lockdown. Following this, the OfS wrote to provider Accountable Officers, setting out the actions they are taking in connection with providers’ compliance to existing regulatory requirements. We expect providers to ensure that continuing and prospective students receive the clear, accurate and timely information needed to make informed decisions.

Whether or not an individual student is entitled to a refund of fees will depend on the specific contractual arrangements between the provider and student. If students have concerns, there is a process in place. They should first raise their concerns with their university. If their concerns remain unresolved, students at providers in England or Wales can ask the Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) for Higher Education to consider their complaint.

With regards to accommodation, universities and private accommodation providers are autonomous and are responsible for setting their own rent agreements. The government plays no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation.

However, we recently announced up to £20 million to help students most in need of support in these exceptional circumstances, for example those struggling to cover accommodation costs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, in addition to an existing £256 million universities can use to help students. The government urges universities and private accommodation providers to be fair in their decisions about rent charges for this period. We welcome the news that a number of universities and large companies have already offered rent rebates for students that have been asked to stay away from their accommodation.

The OIA website is available here: https://www.oiahe.org.uk/.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on consumer contracts, cancellation and refunds affected by COVID-19. This sets out the CMA’s view on how the law operates to help consumers understand their rights and help businesses treat their customers fairly. This is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds.

The OfS has also published guidance on student consumer protection during the COVID-19 outbreak, which is available here: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/for-students/student-and-consumer-protection-during-coronavirus/.