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Office for Fair Access

Secondary information

Type

Parliamentary proceeding

Reference

540 c609 

Session

2010-12

Department

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Chamber / Committee

House of Commons chamber

Proceeding contributions

Vincent Cable | 540 c609 (Link to this contribution) I thank the hon. Gentleman for his question and for giving me the opportunity to tell the House why ...

James Clappison | 540 c609 (Link to this contribution) To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will make a statement on the...

Show all contributions (68)

Vincent Cable | 540 c614 (Link to this contribution) I have just answered that question. The Universities Minister and I were involved in the decision, a...

Vincent Cable | 540 c610-1 (Link to this contribution) I recognise the hon. Gentleman's positive and generous introductory comments about Professor Ebdon, ...

Vincent Cable | 540 c617 (Link to this contribution) Contextual data are already used by universities, including both Oxbridge universities, as a useful ...

Charles Kennedy | 540 c612-3 (Link to this contribution) I welcome my right hon. Friend's decision, the reasoning behind it and the appointment. On the last ...

Vincent Cable | 540 c612 (Link to this contribution) I should congratulate the hon. Gentleman as a co-author of this very good report on fair access—on r...

John Baron | 540 c618 (Link to this contribution) May I press the Secretary of State on whether he agrees that the quota policy espoused by Professor ...

Vincent Cable | 540 c616 (Link to this contribution) I do not want to get into criticising universities. I have already made it very clear that they are ...

Henry Smith | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) Will the Secretary of State consider establishing an advisory body for OFFA so that a range of opini...

Elizabeth Truss | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) Only 50% of comprehensive school sixth forms offer further maths, which is a requirement to study ma...

Vincent Cable | 540 c616 (Link to this contribution) No, I was not aware, and it is not appropriate for me to investigate how the Select Committee came t...

Peter Bottomley | 540 c617 (Link to this contribution) May I join my right hon. Friend in paying tribute to our colleagues who, in the fair access report, ...

Gregg McClymont | 540 c617 (Link to this contribution) As someone who spent several years as an admissions tutor in one of our leading universities, may I ...

Nicholas Dakin | 540 c615 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Secretary of State on sticking to his guns, but what message does he think this p...

Vincent Cable | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) He may well have had doubtful presentation skills on this particular occasion, but he is the spokesm...

Vincent Cable | 540 c615 (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend is absolutely right to stress that the origins of the access problem and the lack of ...

Baroness Blackwood of North Oxford | 540 c618 (Link to this contribution) As someone who once conducted interviews of undergraduates at Oxford, my experience is that Oxford w...

Vincent Cable | 540 c619 (Link to this contribution) Actually, one of the main purposes of OFFA will be to promote those outreach programmes and to draw ...

Stephen Lloyd | 540 c619 (Link to this contribution) Over the past few days there has been an enormous amount of media hype of the issue and some hyperbo...

Vincent Cable | 540 c618 (Link to this contribution) Yes, of course I agree, and I repeat what I have said several times in the past. Indeed, the ultimat...

Stephen Williams | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) Fair access, particularly to research intensive universities, is of paramount importance, because it...

Ann McKechin | 540 c613-4 (Link to this contribution) As the Secretary of State will know, I concurred with his decision about the appointment. Does he sh...

Vincent Cable | 540 c612 (Link to this contribution) I thank the Chairman of the Select Committee for his role: he has made his own views clear while pro...

Vincent Cable | 540 c615-6 (Link to this contribution) Both the Chairman of the Select Committee and I have already answered the hon. Gentleman's question....

David Nuttall | 540 c619 (Link to this contribution) Does the Secretary of State agree that the brightest pupils from the poorest backgrounds would be fa...

Vincent Cable | 540 c618-9 (Link to this contribution) What is different is that the Executive are not ignoring Parliament. We are aware of the criticisms ...

Vincent Cable | 540 c617-8 (Link to this contribution) Yes, that is a very good summary of the conclusions that the Minister for Universities and Science a...

Vincent Cable | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Lady is quite right that that is one of the major problems. As I recall, under the last Gov...

Vincent Cable | 540 c617 (Link to this contribution) I am among the people who paid tribute to that report, and I acknowledge that there is a lot of good...

Richard Fuller | 540 c614 (Link to this contribution) Six months ago, it was my pleasure to present Professor Ebdon with a lifetime achievement award. I t...

Peter Bone | 540 c618-9 (Link to this contribution) This is a case of Parliament v. the Executive. On only two occasions have Select Committees not endo...

Adrian Bailey | 540 c612 (Link to this contribution) The Secretary of State is correct to say that issues arising from Professor Ebdon's interview were r...

Vincent Cable | 540 c613-4 (Link to this contribution) The one aspect of the so-called campaign of vilification that does concern me is that slights have b...

Lord Brennan of Canton | 540 c613 (Link to this contribution) Before he went off to the south pole, did the Universities Minister say, ““I'm just going out. I may...

Vincent Cable | 540 c614 (Link to this contribution) I have already answered that question. I have explained very clearly that the decision was made join...

Vincent Cable | 540 c616 (Link to this contribution) The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to say that I have no intention of dumbing down standards. Th...

Vincent Cable | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) Yes, we will do that. As I understand it, this does not require legislation, and we are looking at t...

Vincent Cable | 540 c618 (Link to this contribution) I think that universities will be greatly reassured that they have an excellent man to lead OFFA in ...

Douglas Carswell | 540 c615-6 (Link to this contribution) On 19 October 2009, the then Conservative Opposition obtained an urgent question following the decis...

Simon Hughes | 540 c617-8 (Link to this contribution) Given that both coalition parties are committed to improving social mobility and that the Office for...

Kevin Barron | 540 c614-5 (Link to this contribution) [Interruption.] ... When a Select Committee reaches a conclusion on an overtly party political basis...

Vincent Cable | 540 c619 (Link to this contribution) I have not intervened beyond making the appointment, and Professor Ebdon has clear terms of referenc...

Vincent Cable | 540 c611-2 (Link to this contribution) On the hon. Gentleman's first, rather desperate, point about turf wars, let me make it absolutely cl...

Rob Wilson | 540 c612 (Link to this contribution) I welcome the fact that the Secretary of State has dropped the plan to charge students interest on e...

Ian Lucas | 540 c616 (Link to this contribution) Between 2006 and 2010, five students only from Wrexham were admitted to Oxford university—regrettabl...

Mark Field | 540 c619 (Link to this contribution) Given that the Secretary of State feels that it is his role to intervene in these matters, will he t...

Vincent Cable | 540 c618 (Link to this contribution) As far as I am aware, Professor Ebdon has never advocated the use of quotas. He is certainly not on ...

Baroness Clark of Kilwinning | 540 c616 (Link to this contribution) As a member of the Select Committee who attended the hearings and was aware that all the Conservativ...

Vincent Cable | 540 c614-5 (Link to this contribution) This is a first-class appointment, which was arrived at in a proper, open and fair manner. As I said...

Vincent Cable | 540 c613 (Link to this contribution) It would have been quite improper to have done so. To the best of my knowledge, that has certainly n...

Philip Hollobone | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) Given that explaining the Government's new access arrangements and the new tuition fee regime is a c...

Chuka Umunna | 540 c611-2 (Link to this contribution) Let me start by congratulating the Business Secretary on securing his preferred appointment to this ...

Vincent Cable | 540 c612-3 (Link to this contribution) Yes, I can give my right hon. Friend absolute assurance on that score. I would like to pay tribute t...

Paul Blomfield | 540 c614 (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the Secretary of State on his statement, on behalf of, I believe, the majority of mem...

James Clappison | 540 c610-1 (Link to this contribution) Let me make it clear that, in the questions that I want to ask, I in no way want to express any disr...

Vincent Cable | 540 c614 (Link to this contribution) I consider that to be a very fair and generous assessment of Professor Ebdon by, I believe, the loca...

Diana Johnson | 540 c618 (Link to this contribution) What message does the open political split in the Government sends to universities, given their resp...

Vincent Cable | 540 c615 (Link to this contribution) I think it sends a very positive message that public appointments are open to scrutiny and that the ...

Edward Leigh | 540 c616 (Link to this contribution) After 50 years of comprehensive education, why do we have this tragedy that only 50 pupils receiving...

Vincent Cable | 540 c619 (Link to this contribution) Yes, he will. He has been given additional resources in order to do his job properly. The issue on w...

Anne Main | 540 c616-7 (Link to this contribution) It is notable that, having defied the Select Committee, there have been no comments about why a mino...

Julian Huppert | 540 c615 (Link to this contribution) I have the privilege of representing three excellent universities. Clearly, the head of OFFA has a l...

Vincent Cable | 540 c616-7 (Link to this contribution) I have already made it clear that there is no question of discriminating against people with ability...

Philip Davies | 540 c614 (Link to this contribution) It comes as no surprise that the Secretary of State wants to appoint someone who is moving the agend...

Vincent Cable | 540 c620 (Link to this contribution) Yes, indeed. Despite the considerable cuts that the Government have had to make as part of fiscal co...

Vincent Cable | 540 c613 (Link to this contribution) I would never accuse the hon. Gentleman of plotting. I know that he is a totally straightforward and...

Brian Binley | 540 c613 (Link to this contribution) I am sure that you would want me to reassure you, Mr Speaker, that no plot whatsoever—preordained or...

Subjects

Public appointments Education Committee Office for Fair Access Ebdon, Les

Link

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