Question

To ask Her Majesty’s Government who supervises and audits public funding of universities in the UK.

Responsibility for higher education is devolved.

The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has responsibility for oversight of the higher education sector in England.

For Higher Education Institute’s that receive HEFCE funding, the individual HEI’s external auditor is required to provide a statement in their audit report that public funding has been used for the purposes for which it was provided. HEFCE also seeks a range of other accountability returns from each HEI and carries out periodic ‘HEFCE Assurance Reviews’ of all HEIs.

Similar arrangements are in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BIS is responsible for “alternative HE providers”, which includes some private universities, who are not in receipt of funding from HEFCE.

Individual public bodies (such as Government Departments and Research Councils) are separately accountable for any public funding that they distribute.