§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have evidence of the extent to which (a) disabled students and (b) students from ethnic minority groups face barriers in their access to opportunities for higher education; and if so, whether they will publish evidence. [HL1272]
What barriers are faced (a) by disabled students and (b) by students from ethnic minority groups in their access to opportunities for higher education. [HL1273]
64WA
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)Ethnic minorities as a whole are well represented in higher education in the United Kingdom but there are some pockets of under-representation. We have commissioned a study to examine the experiences of ethnic minority students which will identify and assess the factors which affect participation, student achievement and transition into the labour market. The Higher Education Funding Council for England and universities and colleges admissions services are also looking to see whether data can be extracted to test whether there are any issues around universities' admissions in respect of ethnicity.
The Higher Education Funding Council for England announced in December 2002 the introduction of a new performance indicator for access of disabled students to higher education institutions based on the percentage of students who are in receipt of the disabled students' allowance.