Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of the Office for Students in protecting the interests of university students self-identifying as neurodivergent.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education (HE) in England and aims to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of HE that enriches their life and career.

The OfS is committed to supporting an inclusive experience of HE for disabled students and uses a range of regulatory tools in order to identify issues and support continuous improvement.

The OfS uses access and participation plans to support and challenge the HE sector to improve equality of opportunity. These are agreements that set out how universities and colleges will improve equality of opportunity for disadvantaged groups, including learners with learning difficulties or disabilities, to access, succeed in and progress from HE.

In the summer, we will set out our plan for HE reform and the part we expect HE providers to play in improving access and outcomes for all disadvantaged students.