Higher Education: Finance

(asked on 27th November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support higher education providers facing financial challenges.


Answered by
Robert Halfon Portrait
Robert Halfon
This question was answered on 5th December 2023

Our universities are autonomous, vibrant, and independent. The department values this, as does the sector. This means that, ultimately, it is for providers, as part of an autonomous and independent sector, to decide on effective business models.

The Office for Students (OfS), as the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England, is responsible for monitoring and reporting on the financial sustainability of the sector. The department’s priority is to ensure that students’ best interests are protected. If a provider was at risk of an unplanned closure, the department would work with the OfS, and others where appropriate, to ensure the best outcomes for those students.

We are investing hundreds of millions of pounds in additional funding over the three-year period from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to support high-quality teaching and facilities including in science and engineering, subjects that support the NHS, and degree apprenticeships. This includes the largest increase in government funding for the HE sector to support students and teaching in over a decade.

My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, departmental officials and I continue to work closely with the OfS and various parties including mission groups, providers, and other government departments as appropriate, to understand the ongoing impacts and changing landscape of financial sustainability in the sector.

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