§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Baroness Ashton of Upholland)My right honourable friend the Minister for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
I have today placed in the Library of the House copies of the new draft letter of statutory guidance from the Secretary of State to the Director of Fair Access (commonly known as the Office for Fair Access or OFFA).
On 23 February 2004 the Secretary of State published the draft regulations and guidance on OFFA as the Higher Education Bill made its way to Committee stage in the House of Commons.
Since that time the Bill has received Royal Assent and some important amendments have been made. Now that the Bill has become an Act and we have 60WS advertised for the post of the Director of Fair Access, the Secretary of State has issued a new draft letter of statutory guidance to the new director. New draft regulations were published on 7 July and copies laid in the Library of the House.
We are determined to ensure that access to higher education is broadened, not narrowed. That is why the new Director of Fair Access will have such an important role. Now that we have advertised for the post of director it is important to remind all those interested of the function, powers and responsibilities. OFFA will be necessary, focused, non-bureaucratic, powerful, independent, open and nothing to do with admissions.
The new director will be in post by the autumn and this letter suggests how he or she might approach the approval and monitoring of institutions' access agreements. The judgments that the director will exercise in ensuring fair access will have far-reaching consequences. His or her freedom to challenge institutions where necessary will be an important safeguard and public reassurance.
The new draft letter reflects changes made to the Bill. The key changes are:
Admissions and academic freedom—The HE Act now makes crystal clear, on the face of the legislation, that OFFA cannot infringe on academic freedom, ensuring OFFA is concentrated single-mindedly on widening access.Good practice —A government amendment in both Houses.Part-time education and OFFA—"A government amendment responded to concern expressed in both Houses about the position of part-time students. It makes plain that while OFFA's prime focus is on the regulation of full-time fees its remit includes safeguarding and promoting access to both full-time and part-time study. The amendment sends a clear signal in primary legislation about the importance that the Government attach to part-time study.Reasonableness and sanctions—It is a general principle of law that a body such as OFFA has to act reasonably. This amendment prevents sanctions being imposed if an institution has done all it possibly can to comply with its access agreement. It safeguards institutions from being penalised for problems outside their control. Failure to meet their own milestones is not of itself grounds for any sanction. But where progress is less than expected, OFFA will take into account whether any underlying causes have been identified and addressed by the institution when considering renewal.ReviewߞThis amendment allows institutions to seek a review of decisions made by OFFA to an independent person or panel. The panel will only be able to ask OFFA to look again at a decision, for instance in the light of new information. This is a sensible position for a new regulator, and ensures a fair deal for institutions as well as students.61WSGap years—Paragraph 4.2 of the letter reminds institutions that they should not charge higher fees to students who took a gap year and deferred their entry from the 2005–06 academic year to 2006–07.The key principles set out in the letter of guidance are that OFFA should be well focused, non-bureaucratic and open to views from within the sector.