Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the impact of reducing Uni Connect funding by an additional £10 million on reducing the gap in higher education participation between the most and least represented groups in (a) the Humber and (b) nationally.

The Uni Connect programme was originally set up as a four-year investment programme to support the creation of a strong and versatile network of local partnerships, aimed at providing sustained outreach to young people across England. During this initial start-up phase, funding was set at £60 million to support the establishment of local partnerships and establishing projects to support hard-to-read students.

The programme is now in its third phase. The department has set out in its strategic priorities guidance in 2021 and 2022 that funding should be redirected, with funding to be spent on maintaining core infrastructure and delivering the most effective interventions which meet specific policy aims.

In November 2021, the department issued new guidance to the Office for Students (OfS) on rebooting the access and participation regime in England. As part of this new approach, the Director for Fair Access and Participation has asked providers to play a greater role in improving equality of opportunity in further and higher education within schools.

In April 2022, the OfS issued guidance to providers inviting them to vary their current plans. Providers are being asked to incorporate more attainment raising activities in partnership with schools in their currents access and participation plans. Providers are also asked to develop more diverse pathways into their institution, including levels 4 and 5 and apprenticeships. Additionally, providers are being asked to consider the needs that exist both nationally and within their own regional and local context.