Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the factors contributing to the decline in mature student applications.

Data published by Universities and Colleges Admissions Services (UCAS) on full-time undergraduate higher education (HE) applications for the 2025 admissions cycle shows the overall number of applicants to UK HE is slightly higher than last year, with demand remaining strong.

UCAS data from the equal consideration deadline, which was in January, shows applications from mature UK applicants, those aged over 21, are down 6.4% on 2024, and down 21.3% on 2020. However, acceptances at end of cycle are not always reflective of these earlier trends.

In 2024, UK domiciled mature applicants were down 15.8% on 2019 at the January deadline but were up 1.3% at end of cycle. Acceptances at end of cycle were up 2.2%. There has been long-term growth in the number of UK domiciled mature acceptances reported at end of cycle between 2006 and 2024. This is shown in the green line in the attachment.

Eligible full-time and part-time undergraduate students, including mature students, qualify for up-front fee loans to meet the full costs of their tuition. Full-time students also qualify for partially means-tested loans as a contribution towards their living costs, which are paid at four different rates depending on where a student is living and studying. In addition, vulnerable groups of students who are eligible for benefits, such as lone parents, qualify for higher rates of loans for living costs. Full-time students aged 60 or over on the first day of the first academic year of their course qualify for a single rate fully means-tested loan for living costs.

Full-time undergraduate students with adult or child dependants can apply for fully means-tested dependants’ grants.

Part-time undergraduate students attending eligible courses also qualify for partially means-tested loans for living costs.

Students undertaking postgraduate master’s or doctoral degree courses can apply for loans to help them with fee and course costs.

Maximum loans and grants for living and other costs for undergraduates and postgraduates will increase by 3.1% for the 2025/26 academic year with the largest cash increases to means-tested support for students from low-income families.

In terms of additional support available, all HE providers registered with the Office for Students (OfS) that intend to charge higher level tuition fees must have an Access and Participation Plan (APP) approved by the OfS. APPs articulate how HE providers will improve equality of opportunity for underrepresented groups, including mature students.

There are many excellent examples of interventions that show a real commitment to widening access into HE for mature students, but we want the sector to go further. By summer, the department will set out our plan for HE reform and the part we expect providers to play in improving access and outcomes for all under-represented students.

Finally, from January 2027, the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the student finance system in England. Under the LLE, new learners will be able to access a full entitlement equal to 4 years of full-time tuition. Returning learners who have previously received government support will have a reduced entitlement. This will depend on previous funding received. Learners will be able to use this new entitlement more flexibly than ever before to fund individual modules as well as full courses at levels 4 to 6, regardless of whether they are provided in colleges, universities or independent providers. The government expects to see the LLE being taken advantage of by mature students, those wishing to change career and retrain, or those wanting to move up in their existing career and upskill. Mature students may particularly benefit from the additional flexibility that LLE will bring as they frequently study part-time while combining paid work and other familial and financial commitments.