Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has conducted an equality impact assessment to assess the effect on students from disadvantaged backgrounds of the recent rise in tuition fees.

The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone with the potential has the opportunity to benefit from higher education, irrespective of their background. The latest data shows the application and entry rates for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds are at record levels.

An equality assessment was performed in relation to the Higher Education and Research Bill, which covers the potential impacts of the introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and its link to student tuition fees on protected and disadvantaged groups. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-and-research-bill-equality-analysis

The Secretary of State will also consider the impact of changes to student support and tuition fees for 2017/18 on protected and disadvantaged groups, as required by the Public Sector Equality Duty, before the secondary legislation that will implement these changes is laid before Parliament. The equality analysis covering these changes, including the potential impact of tuition fee rises up to an inflationary-linked fee cap for providers successful in TEF Year One, will be published alongside these regulations.