Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effect of unconditional university offers on the motivation of students.

The department is concerned about an increase in unconditional offers, in particular conditional unconditional offers, and any adverse impact they may be having on students’ motivation and restricting student choice. The independent regulatory body for higher education, the Office for Students (OfS), will be monitoring types of offers and their impact as part of its wider review of admissions, which is underway.

The OfS has powers set down in legislation to take action if it has evidence that a higher education provider is acting in a way that harms the prospects of students, through restricting the choice and opportunity available to them, or failing to deliver successful outcomes.