Last Monday, closing a Westminster Hall debate, skills, FE and HE minister Robert Halfon announced that he would not, currently, be bringing in a statutory duty of care for university students – despite unilateral cross-party support for the motion.
In doing so, he has denied 2.8 million higher education students the minimum standard of legal protection afforded to most other adults – and enjoyed by 913k adult students in further education and by every member of staff at a university.
The Learn Network – a group of 25 families bereaved by student suicide – argues that duty of care is a fundamental civil rights entitlement, alongside the right to vote, to a fair trial, and to equal protection under the law. The petition we launched in September 2022 for a statutory duty of care received 128,292 signatures from registered voters – significantly exceeding the numerical threshold needed to trigger a debate in parliament.
Closing the debate – which saw resounding support for immediate action from MPs contributing – Halfon outlined his expectations on how the sector might deliver improved interventions for student mental health support, noting:
If we do not see a proactive and positive response from the sector, we will not hesitate to ask the Office for Students to explore targeted regulation to protect student interests.
