To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to (a) help clarify the duty of care owed by higher education providers to their students and (b) to ensure such standards are met.
Answered on
8 January 2025
The department is determined that children and young people receive the mental health care they deserve. This government is breaking down barriers to opportunity by providing young people with the mental health support they deserve. To support this, this government has committed to recruiting 8,500 additional staff across children and adult NHS mental health services.
The department continues to work closely with students, parents, mental health experts and the higher education (HE) sector to drive meaningful change in mental health practice through the HE Mental Health Implementation Taskforce. The Taskforce recently published its second stage report, which is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/higher-education-mental-health-implementation-taskforce.
The department’s position is that a duty of care in HE may arise in certain circumstances. Such circumstances would be a matter for the courts to decide, based on the specific facts and context of the case being considered, and will be dependent on the application by a court of accepted common law principles.
My noble Friend, the Minister for Skills, welcomes the opportunity to meet with members of ForThe100 regarding these issues.