DfE consultation on strengthening oversight of partnership delivery in HE: Response from the Chartered ABS

The Chartered ABS has responded to the Department for Education’s consultation on its proposals to strengthen the oversight of franchising delivery partnerships in higher education based on feedback from members involved in franchising partnerships. We are in broad agreement with the proposal that franchised partners with 300+ students must register with the DfE to be eligible to access student finance as we believe this will result in better outcomes for students and improve the safeguarding of public funds.

However, our response outlines several concerns about the proposals, including the timeline for registration and the OfS’s capacity to process registrations from multiple franchised partners simultaneously. The withdrawal of franchised partners from the sector due to being unable to complete the registration process by September 2027 would have adverse consequences for lead providers as well as students, and would add to the financial challenges facing the sector.

Download the full response: CABS response to the DfE consultation on strengthening oversight of partnership delivery in HE