Investigation into student loans issued to those studying at franchised higher education providers

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 10 Jan 2024 Closed: 29 May 2024 Parliament page
Higher education providers can create partnerships, or ‘franchises’, with other institutions to provide courses on their behalf. These franchised providers are not required to register with the Office for Students (OfS), which regulates higher education. Lead providers keep responsibility for teaching quality and protecting students’ interests. In 2022 and 2023, … Read more
9 Recommendations
18 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
11 Jul
2025
Report published
24 Apr
2024
Report published
18 Mar
2024
Correspondence
26 Feb
2024
Oral evidence
26 Feb
2024
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
26 Feb 2024
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Investigation into student loans issued to those studying at franchised higher education providers
Chris Larmer · Student Loans Company Julia Kinniburgh · Department for Education Susan Acland-Hood · The Department for Education Susan Lapworth · Office for Students
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Twenty-Eighth Report - Student loans issued to those studying at… HC 455 24 Apr 2024 27 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
1 result
Clear
2 Recommendation Rejected
Twenty-Eighth Report - Student loa…
Publish overview of higher education delivery models and define reasonable tuition fee retention for lead providers.
To remain financially viable, some providers may be incentivised to increase student numbers through franchising, which creates risks for students and taxpayers. In 2022, the Committee highlighted the risk of providers being financially vulnerable. OfS analysis, published in May 2023, … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees with the recommendation but states the OfS does not consider it possible to set a standard proportion of tuition fees for lead providers to retain due to the diversity of arrangements, though it will continue to investigate these arrangements.
HM Treasury
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Government Response AI assessment · 26 of 9 classified
Accepted 17
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 4
Rejected 1
Total 9 recs + 18 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
18 Mar 2024 Correspondence from Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent Secretary, Department for Education, re Investigation into student loans issued to those studying at franchised higher education providers follow-up, dated 8 March 2024
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