Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Smith of Malvern on 8 July (HL8602), what plans they have, if any, to conduct a survey on the integrity of university examinations, including the use of examination adjustments arising from claims of self-assessed neurodivergence.

Universities have responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for all their disabled students where necessary. Reasonable adjustments are offered at the discretion of the university based on an assessment of a student's individual needs.

In England, the management of university exams is guided by a combination of national regulatory bodies, university-specific policies and sector-wide frameworks.

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator for higher education in England. While it does not set specific exam rules, its conditions of registration ensure that universities maintain high academic standards and fair assessment practices. It requires institutions to uphold principles of fairness, transparency and accessibility in assessments.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education provides the UK Quality Code for Higher Education, outlining expectations for academic standards and quality. This includes guidance on assessment design, marking and academic integrity.

Each university is autonomous and sets its own assessment regulations, including:

• Exam formats.
• Marking and grading criteria.
• Procedures for mitigating circumstances.
• Reasonable adjustments which a student might require.

The department does not have evidence which suggests that reasonable adjustments are impacting the integrity of exams or assessments and have no current plans to conduct a survey on the integrity of university examinations.