The Office for Students (OfS) has received guidance from the Secretary of State for Education and the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education on the Higher Education Strategic Priorities Grant for the 2023-24 financial year.
The OfS distributes this funding to universities, colleges and other higher education providers, where it will be used to support work on high-cost subjects, student mental health, degree apprenticeships and technical qualifications, and a range of other priorities. The budget for the 2023-24 financial year is £1,454 million (an increase from £1,397 million in 2022-23). As announced last year, there is also a capital budget to fund facilities and buildings of £450 million for the three-year period 2022-23 to 2024-25.
Commenting on the guidance, Nolan Smith, Director of Resources and Finance at the OfS, said:
'The strategic priorities grant provides significant and targeted funding to the universities, colleges and other higher education providers the OfS regulates. We welcome this increase in the grant, which will allow universities and colleges to continue providing high quality teaching and invest in their facilities for the benefit of students, especially in high-cost subjects such as medicine, nursing and science.
‘This investment will also support alternative routes into higher education, including degree apprenticeships, higher technical qualifications and other Level 4 and 5 qualifications. These paths offer unique benefits, as well as widening access and opportunities in higher education for students from underrepresented backgrounds. We aim to publish details about our approach to recurrent funding allocations for the 2023-24 academic year in May.’