Information on student outcomes in higher education (HE), including broken down by those studying at franchised providers, is published by the Office for Students (OfS). The OfS also publishes National Student Survey results.

The government has identified concerns about parts of the franchised HE sector, including recruitment practices, quality and the protection of public money. In response, we have introduced a requirement for larger franchise providers to register with the OfS as a condition of access to student finance. Registered providers must meet the OfS's conditions of registration, including requirements relating to quality, student outcomes and the interests of students as consumers.

The government has not made a specific assessment of the impact of inducements on prospective students, including those who might otherwise lack the interest or ability to complete HE. However, HE providers must comply with consumer protection law and have regard to Competition and Markets Authority guidance, and OfS works with relevant regulators where concerns arise.

The department has not made an assessment of the potential impact of the cost of student visas on the finances of UK universities. However, the government continues to monitor the financial sustainability of the higher education (HE) sector and works closely with the Office for Students (OfS), to understand risks and pressures facing providers.

The OfS, as independent regulator of English HE providers, has statutory duties in relation to the financial sustainability of the sector. The government has a clear interest in understanding the level of risk across the sector and continues to work closely with the OfS to understand the sector’s changing financial landscape.

We increased tuition fee caps in line with inflation in 2025/26 and are also increasing tuition fee caps in line with forecast inflation in 2026/27 and 2027/28 and will legislate to increase tuition fee caps automatically for future academic years. Over the next five years, these uplifts could generate around £6 billion extra income for the sector.

HE providers are independent from government and as such must continue to make the necessary and appropriate decisions to ensure their long-term sustainability.

More broadly, the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out the government’s commitment to placing the sector on a more sustainable footing, supporting providers to drive efficiency, strengthen financial resilience, and adopt more effective operating models.

This government has taken a different stand on international students and we have spoken clearly about it. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education has set out that we welcome international students who make a positive impact on the UK’s HE sector and our economy and society as a whole. The UK has a world class higher education sector with 4 universities in the top 10 and 17 in the top 100, alongside a wide array of high-quality institutions which can offer a fulfilling and enjoyable experience to international students from around the world.

The Immigration White Paper confirmed that we will retain the graduate visa but reduce its duration from 2 years to 18 months. This will maintain our competitive post-study offer whilst ensuring individuals on this route obtain employment in graduate level roles and contribute to the country’s skills needs more quickly.

The department recognises the cultural and economic value of performing and creative arts courses. However, given the fiscal constraints, our approach is to prioritise funding for subjects with the highest delivery costs and where there is stronger evidence of current and future skills shortages.

Creative arts subjects already attract lower rates of funding than the science and technology subjects in price groups A and B, with Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) funding representing only a relatively small proportion of their overall funding when fees are taken into account. For 2025/26, the SPG funding rate for performing and creative arts courses was £130.54 per student full time equivalent. This is just over 1% of the total funding for these courses including tuition fees that are supported by subsidised student loans.

Performing and creative arts courses will, like other subjects, benefit from future inflationary increases to tuition fees.

We recognise the cultural and economic value of media, journalism and publishing courses. However, given the fiscal constraints, our approach is to continue to prioritise funding for subjects with the highest delivery costs (and hence Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) funding) and where there is stronger evidence of current and future skills shortages.

Media, journalism and publishing were subjects that previously attracted lower rates of funding than the science and technology subjects in price groups A & B, with SPG funding representing only a relatively small proportion of their overall funding when fees are taken into account. For 2024/25, the SPG funding rate for these courses was £130.54 per student full time equivalent. This was just over 1% of the total funding for these courses including tuition fees (that are supported by subsidised student loans).

Media, journalism and publishing courses will, like other subjects, benefit from future inflationary increases to tuition fees.

The government is clear that antisemitic abuse has no place on campuses. The Office for Students’ E6 condition of registration requires university providers to have policies, reporting procedures, support arrangements and preventative measures in place to address harassment.

The department is working closely with higher education (HE) providers and the Union of Jewish Students (UJS) to strengthen support for Jewish students. The department has funded UJS training for university staff to improve understanding of antisemitism and support effective responses to incidents on campus. In addition, a department funded scholarship programme, delivered by Palace Yard and launching nationally this autumn, will develop HE provider staff expertise in tackling antisemitism.

The department will shortly publish new guidance on managing external speakers and events to support providers in assessing and mitigating Prevent-related risks.

HE providers continue to be encouraged to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance working definition as a practical tool for identifying and addressing antisemitic behaviour.

The Defence Universities Alliance was launched with its 35 founding members on 13 July. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) will now work with these members to shape and design the alliance, its governance structures and the agenda going forward, ensuring this is a collaborative alliance beneficial to both the MOD and the HE sector.

Once these initial principles have been established, applications for membership are expected to open again, ensuring a wider group of institutions can be part of the Alliance and build on their support for defence.

The Office for Students (OfS) publishes POLAR4 data and provides information on its website about this metric, available at: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/young-participation-by-area/about-polar-and-adult-he/.

The OfS states that POLAR is intended to measure how likely young people are to participate in higher education across different areas of the UK. It does not directly measure socio-economic background. The OfS additionally recommends the use of TUNDRA (Tracking Underrepresentation by Area) rather than POLAR where an area-based measure of young participation is needed, as it provides more precise targeting and improved consistency with other participation measures, although POLAR may still provide additional insights in some circumstances.

Women founders make a critical contribution to the UK’s innovation economy. Ministers engage regularly with universities and sector representatives on entrepreneurship, commercialisation and university spin-outs.

The Women in Research Charter, published on 1 July and backed by more than 60 organisations, including over 40 universities promotes family leave, flexible working and inclusive research culture. The Charter will enable women academics to thrive across their careers, including turning their research into commercial ideas.

DSIT also established the Women in Tech Taskforce to address barriers facing women in the tech sector. Following the recent publication of its Call for Evidence findings and an independent report on the economic benefits of removing barriers to participation in the digital economy, the Taskforce is developing interventions to tackle toxic culture and support women-led businesses, to be announced later this year.

The allocation of reserve list applicants to foundation schools is still on-going. The UK Foundation Programme Office published an update on 3 July detailing two further reserve-list allocation rounds which will take place on 15 July and 29 July respectively. The update on the reserve-list allocations is available at the following link:

https://foundationprogramme.nhs.uk/ukfp-2026-reserve-allocation-update/

The Student visa route is designed to enable genuine international students to study at eligible UK education providers while maintaining the integrity of the immigration system.

When developing student immigration policy, the Home Office considers matters relevant to the effective operation and integrity of the immigration system, alongside the Government’s wider migration objectives.

Licensed Student sponsors must act with integrity as education providers and assess whether prospective students meet the requirements of the route and are likely to comply with the conditions of their permission, including complying with the law. Higher education providers are responsible for meeting their sponsor duties and managing their campuses and student communities. The Government is clear that antisemitism has no place in our society.