PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper set out clearly the need for stronger governance across the higher education sector. In an increasingly complex and uncertain environment, governance and leadership arrangements must be resilient, transparent, and capable of responding with agility to the challenges ahead. While there is much to be celebrated about governance in the sector, there is also much to be strengthened. We have seen widespread overly optimistic planning across the sector, systemic over-reliance on international student income, insufficient long-term strategic planning, and weaknesses in financial forecasting. These are not isolated or confined to a small number of institutions. They point to more systemic issues and an historic lack of sustained focus on board-level responsibility for addressing emerging and long-term risk. The White Paper was clear that governing bodies must ensure they have the diverse skills and capability to oversee strategy, plan prudently, understand and manage risk, challenge, deliver change and put in place sustainable business models. The Government strongly welcomes the Committee of University Chairs’ leadership in driving forward improvements in governance across the sector. Its new Code of Governance represents a significant and ambitious step change in expectations, placing a much stronger emphasis on critical areas such as institutional culture and behaviours, as well as the effectiveness and oversight of governing bodies. The Code, alongside its supplementary guidance, provides a clear and authoritative framework to support providers in strengthening their governance arrangements. It will act as a springboard for a vital programme of work to promote greater consistency, accountability and excellence in governance practice across the sector. While this important sector-led work sets the direction, it remains the responsibility of individual providers to ensure their governance arrangements are robust and fit for purpose. To reinforce these expectations, the Government will support the Office for Students in strengthening its management and governance conditions of registration. These conditions should set clear and high expectations that all providers’ governance arrangements are robust, comprehensive, and can be relied upon to ensure sound financial management, high-quality provision, and the security of academic standards.