The government and the Office for Students (OfS) have each responded to the report of House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee’s recent inquiry.
The report found the regulator lacks independence from ministers, at times implementing political priorities rather than regulating in the interests of students and for the long term health of the higher education sector.
The government’s response is disappointing – defending ministerial guidance given to the OfS to date, declining to make resigning a party whip a requirement for joining the board of a regulator, and finding no need to take further steps to ensure the OfS operates independently.
However, there are more promising signs in the response from the OfS, which accepted many of the inquiry’s recommendations and made commitments to increased transparency which should bolster both the integrity of decision making and universities’ confidence in the regulator.
