Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made contribution of the part-time student premium to the Government's opportunity mission.

The department is determined to break down barriers to opportunity by supporting the aspiration of every person who meets the requirements and wants to go to university, regardless of their background, where they live and their personal circumstances. Part-time student premium funding allocated through the Strategic Priorities Grant, is an important part of delivering on this vision and our Opportunity Mission.

This funding is allocated to higher education providers in England which are on the Office for Students (OfS)’ Approved (fee cap) register, to support them to provide part-time courses for students. This recognises that the flexibility part-time courses offer is important, especially for older learners and those from underrepresented groups.

This is why my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education’s recent guidance to the OfS explicitly directs the OfS to retain the per-student funding rates for the student premiums, including the part-time student premium, where affordable. Funding allocations for individual higher education providers for the forthcoming academic year will be published by the OfS in due course.