A new report analysing the Access and Participation Plans (APPs) of higher education
providers in London has identified a reduction in efforts to address systemic barriers to
equality of opportunity following recent changes to regulation.
The report, A Risk Shared: Developing a Regional Approach for Addressing Risks to
Equality of Access to Higher Education, which was produced by London South Bank
University in partnership with London Higher, reviews the APPs of 43 London-based
institutions. It examines how they are responding to the risks set out in the Office for
Students’ (OfS) Equality of Opportunity Risk Register, which was introduced in 2023 as
part of a new regulatory framework.
The report finds few APP targets relating to cost pressures and the availability of
accommodation. With average rent in the capital now outstripping even the maximum
student maintenance loan entitlement, and cost concerns constraining student choice,
these systemic factors pose material barriers to HE progression regionally. The scale of
their impact is not reflected in the widening participation strategies of London-based
providers.
In addition, the report shows that access-related APP targets have markedly reduced in
London since the OfS introduced its new regulatory framework. This suggests the
region’s longstanding record of widening access to higher education may be under
threat without suitable infrastructure that enables the work to be sustained in a targeted
and efficient way.
Although the OfS strongly encourages collaboration as part of APPs, the collaborative
commitments identified in the report are more transactional in nature, with relatively
little evidence of deep, sustained work or engagement with the region’s Uni Connect
partnership.
As the report makes clear, this situation is not attributable to a lack of commitment or
effort on the part of individual higher education providers. Rather, it illustrates a
‘structural gap’ in the current regulatory framework: the sector lacks a mechanism to
ensure coordinated action on regional equality of opportunity challenges. Introducing
this was a stated aim of the proposed Regional Access Partnerships, on which the OfS
recently consulted as a potential successor initiative to Uni Connect.
To address this, the report calls for:
1. A reformed role for London’s Uni Connect partnership, enabling it to better
coordinate interventions across the capital. Its role in supporting providers
with evaluation and building the regional evidence base for interventions should
also be strengthened.
2. The development of a London-specific Equality of Opportunity Risk Register,
to underpin regional coordination. This should be done through consultation
with HE providers, local authorities, schools, colleges, third sector organisations
and student groups.
3. Regional delivery of highly-targeted interventions, for instance those that
serve smaller or dispersed groups who are underrepresented in HE, such as care
leavers, young adult carers, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller students, and students
from service family backgrounds. This would be more resource-efficient and
reduce burden on individual providers.
Commenting on the report, Professor Antony Moss, lead author, Group Executive
Director and Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students and Learners) at London South Bank
University and Chair of the London Uni Connect partnership, said:
“Although our report is rooted in the London context, the issues it exposes are not unique
to the capital. The case for a regional, risk-based approach to access and participation
is relevant across England, particularly in areas where costs, capacity and local
opportunity structures shape who can realistically participate in higher education.
In that sense, our findings speak directly to the Office for Students’ recently published
outcomes from its consultation on Regional Access Partnerships, which recognise the
need for stronger place-based collaboration and shared ownership of equality risks at
regional level. Our analysis provides a practical, evidence-informed model for how that
ambition could be realised – complementing provider-level plans with coordinated
regional action that is capable of reducing inequality at scale.”
Dr Richard Boffey, Head of AccessHE at London Higher, said:
“This report poses an important and timely question as we approach the mid-way point
of current Access and Participation Plans: are they lending strategic focus to widening
participation work at a regional level? On the evidence the report provides, it would
appear not. As it shows, institutions in London are focussing their APPs on inequalities it is within their gift to address, rather than those that post the greatest equality of
opportunity risk regionally.
This is not the fault of providers, who, in the absence of genuine incentives to
collaborate regionally, are responding logically and directing their limited resources
towards equality challenges they feel most able to tackle alone. But a more joined up
approach is possible, and the common-sense recommendations this report puts
forward show how this can be realised, building on the vital infrastructure we already
have in the form of London’s Uni Connect partnership and London Higher, the longest-
standing regional HE network in the country.”
Professor Julie Hall, Vice-Chancellor of London Metropolitan University and
London Higher Board Lead for Access and Widening Participation, said:
“London Metropolitan University is proud of our record opening up higher education
opportunities to students from lower-income households, whose studies prove
transformative to their future earnings and life chances. But in my role leading the
institution, I see just how challenging issues such as cost pressures have become for
students, both at London Met and across the region. And I recognise there is only so
much that institutions can do to mitigate these when working in isolation.
I therefore welcome this report’s proposals for improving the regional coordination of
access and participation work, to drive increased focus on key risks in London, such as
the costs associated with studying. Supporting HE providers to make judicious choices
about how and where to collaborate in their regions will improve efficiency and
ultimately help them fulfil the role government is asking of them in mission-driven
efforts to deliver inclusive growth.”
