PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE The Government agrees on the importance of strong coordination across the higher education and research landscape to maximise impact, support place-based growth and drive the quality of provision. This coordination is already embedded in the system. The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 places duties on UK Research and Innovation and the Office for Students to work collaboratively, supported by a formal collaboration agreement which sets out arrangements for regular engagement, information sharing and alignment on priorities. Close working between the DfE and DSIT, as respective sponsoring departments, further ensures alignment of governance and strategic direction. The DfE and DSIT already work closely together, including co-authoring the higher education chapter of the recent Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper, and maintain regular engagement with the Office for Students and UKRI. The White Paper clearly set out our expectation to see increased specialisation and collaboration across the higher education sector, and identified how our ongoing plans will support such activity. This will help to ensure the right volume and mix of priority courses and research capabilities, both at a local and national level. DfE officials meet regularly with the Office for Students, DSIT and other relevant Government departments to discuss the overall climate for financial sustainability and identify emerging risks and issues for the HE sector. We will continue to build on this collaboration, including making effective use of data such as HESA’s mapping of provision and participation to inform policy development and targeted interventions. In the future, we will also look to make use of the data from the Market Monitoring Function announced in the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper. This is being developed and delivered on our behalf by the Office for Students, in close collaboration with DSIT and UKRI ad other partners across government and the sector. It will draw together key datasets to provide a clear, single picture of higher education supply and demand, enabling us to act on any gaps between demand, supply and local need. UKRI is also undertaking analysis of research capability across UK higher education providers and other research organisations to understand the implications of the sector’s changing landscape. The Office for Students and UKRI each have established roles and governance arrangements, and we will work with them, and with other relevant departments and agencies, to maximise impact, while respecting their statutory independence. The CMA has published guidance to support providers in understanding how competition law applies to their activities. As stated previously, we will continue to monitor the impact of competition law on the sector.