Lords query plans that could see poorer students put off university

Peers question government plans for student outcomes and suggest mental health scrutiny

Members of the House of Lords have once again raised concerns over aspects of the upcoming skills bill, highlighting worries around a condition that would allow the Office for Students to set baselines for university performance without taking student backgrounds into account.

During the debate on the Skills and Post-16 Education Bill, held on 15 July in the House of Lords, former universities minister and Conservative peer David Willetts warned that clause 17 in the bill—which would allow the OfS to set absolute baselines on student outcomes regardless of the make-up of a university’s student population—could encourage institutions to turn away some students.