Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the powers and responsibilities of members of the board of the Office for Students.

The Higher Education and Research Act (HERA) 2017 established the Office for Students (OfS) to be the new regulatory body for higher education providers in England (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2017/29/contents/enacted). HERA confers specific powers, duties and responsibilities on the OfS, as a ‘body corporate’.

These include the duty to maintain a register of English higher education providers, and powers and duties to impose conditions of registrations on these providers. They also have the duty to assess the quality of, and standards applied to, education provided by registered providers. Additionally, they have the power to delegate functions in relation to the assessment of quality and standards; approve access and participation plans; and authorise degree awarding powers and to grant university title.

HERA confers specific responsibility on the OfS’s Director for Fair Access and Participation to oversee the performance of the organisation’s access and participation functions. Including approving access and participation plans, identifying and advising on good practice relating to the promotion of equality of opportunity. The Director will also be responsible for reporting to the other members of the OfS Board on the performance of these functions.

The OfS must also have regard to guidance, which will be issued by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education. In this guidance, we intend to set out certain areas of work, which we would like the Chair and his fellow board members to focus on. Such as achieving a smooth transition from the Higher Education Funding Council for England regime, establishing and maintaining the new register, and reviewing providers’ approaches to widening access and participation.

The OfS and my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State have agreed that certain other responsibilities will fall to the Chair and Chief Executive. For example, the Chair will report to the minister and ensure that the OfS’s policies and actions support the government’s wider strategic policies. The Chief Executive, as Principal Accounting Officer, will be responsible for the day-to-day operations and management of the OfS, particularly with regard to the management of public funds.