The Office for Fair Access today (Thursday 21 July) welcomed ‘The Hughes Report’ by Simon Hughes MP, the Government Advocate for Access to Education, on improving access to further and higher education.

Commenting on the report, Director of Fair Access Sir Graeme Davies said: “This report makes some very interesting recommendations which we will be considering carefully before we submit our report to ministers this autumn on how universities have responded to our guidance on 2012-13 Access Agreements.

“We particularly welcome the emphasis on working with pupils from an early age to raise aspirations and improve attainment and the need to increase the quality and provision of advice and guidance – matters that Sir Martin Harris highlighted in our report on improving access to the most selective universities.”

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Notes to editors

• ‘The Hughes Report’ can be found at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/hughes-report
• The Office for Fair Access (OFFA) is an independent, non-departmental public body established under the Higher Education Act 2004 to help promote and safeguard fair access to higher education. The main way we do this is by approving and monitoring ‘access agreements’. All English universities and colleges offering full-time (and in future, part-time, subject to Parliamentary approval) undergraduate higher education courses must have an access agreement with us in order to charge higher fees. Access agreements set out the access measures (e.g. outreach or financial support) that universities and colleges will put in place.
• For more about OFFA, please see our website www.offa.org.uk, particularly the Quick Facts and FAQ in the Press section.
• For further information, contact Zita Adamson, Communications Manager at OFFA, on 0117 931 7272 or 0117 931 7171.