Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to widen access to university for children who have been in care.

I want to ensure that all care leavers with the potential to benefit from higher education are encouraged to apply. Guidance issued by the Office for Students (OfS) to universities on completing access and participation plans identifies care leavers as a key target group whose needs their plans should address. Last week, we launched the Care Leaver Covenant, which will provide a way for organisations from the public, private and voluntary sectors – including universities – to set out what support they provide to care leavers.

Universities are being asked to work with children in care and care leavers, to encourage them to apply and to provide them with additional support through the application process. A number of universities have already signed the covenant, including Leeds, Liverpool and Bradford; and we will continue to work closely with the OfS to encourage all universities to sign it.